Environmental scheme closure a ‘shattering blow’ to farmers

After suddenly closing the National Funding Scheme, farmers can fold their back on environmental work for more intensive food production, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned.

Sustainable farming incentives (SFIs), which pays farmers in England to manage land to protect soil, was an important part of the Brexit Payment Scheme, to restore the headgroers and promote the recovery of nature, which changed the European Union’s subsidy.

The government said that the SFI was successful, in which 37,000 funding agreements agreed, but it would not accept any new application. No replacement has been announced.

NFU president Tom Bradshow said it was “another shattered shock for English forms”.

Mr. Bradshaw said that suddenly closing farmers will be forced to decide that “the environmental work is to bend his back and is just as difficult as they can survive”.

Organic arable farmer Anna Biaste, who has a 300 hectare farm on the North Norfolk coast, said that she was planning to apply for SFI funding and its shutdown means that it is now facing a reduction of £ 140,000 in its future income.

He told BBC News that he is now “an angry, disappointed and apprehensive about the future”.

“You spend time in planning on the basis of the best information you have, but then the plan I have made now is futile. It is a waste of time and it should be multiplied across the country, whether farmers or nature donations that are managing land and using similar schemes.

“It seems that we are being possible from every angle,” he explained.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DFRA) announced the closure of SFI, which was launched in 2022, which had a slight warning.

It said that overall, more than 50,000 agricultural businesses – all cultivated half of the land covered – were now benefiting from comprehensive environmental land management schemes (ELM).

The 37,000 agreements signed for SFI funding meant that all the budgets of the scheme were allocated and no other new applications could be accepted.

The SFI is the largest part of Elms, which will be distributed in exchange for public funds by farmers, restoring and creating wildlife houses, such as “public goods”, such as “public goods” established to replace the European Union subsidy with the idea.

The government said that it is still committed to pay £ 5BN in two years for such permanent farming and nature recovery work.

It states that a “new and better” SFI, which will have a capped budget will be established, but its details will not be announced.

Food Safety and Rural Affairs Minister Daniel Zicner said: “This government is proud to set the biggest budget for permanent food yield in history.

“More farmers are now in schemes and more money is being spent through them. It is true today and tomorrow will be true.”

But Mr. Bradshow said that the door for funding for thousands of farmers was “closed” due to the closure of the current SFI scheme.

He said that the closure was “yet re -distributed with no warning, no understanding of the industry and with full lack of compassion or care”.

Victoria Vyavian, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) representing thousands of rural landlords, said the closure of the scheme was “the most cruel” betrayal.

He said that this decision “actively damages nature. It actively damages the environment. And, once again with war is fierce in Europe, is careless beyond confidence to actively damage our food production”.

Martin Lines, Chief Executive Officer of Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), said that the difference before a new SFI scheme would leave some farmers “in a truly difficult financial situation”.

He said, “It is feeling disappointed to many farmers and let down, which has no clear opportunity to be rewarded for giving public goods in the near future,” he said.