Lobbying efforts force government to help thousands excluded from SFI closure
FARMERS locked out of SFI mid-application can now access funding, Defra confirms.
Industry’s lobbying efforts force government to help thousands excluded from key scheme.
Farmers who were locked out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme despite being
midway through an application will now be allowed to access support.
Defra says those who saved their application but didn’t submit within two months of the
scheme’s closure will be allowed to apply up to a maximum of £9,300 per application. It comes after
the scheme was shut without any warning in March, sending shockwaves through the farming
sector. Defra had said that “SFI has reached its completion” so stopped accepting new applications
with immediate effect, with a revised scheme to follow.
With talk of a potential legal challenge to the lack of notice, the government now says the
thousands of affected farmers will be supported. Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said he is
“addressing the situation and have remade the decision to close the SFI 2024 scheme to new
applications, without notice, on 11 March”.
Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said: “We’ve been
lobbying for the government to take note of the thousands of farmers who were mid-application
when the SFI scheme suddenly shut, and we’re glad they have now listened.
“It’s a limited amount of money, but it does take a bit of the sting out of the suddenness of the
closure. The way for Defra to avoid such a shock again is to be open and transparent, and work with
industry to design the revised scheme.”
In a statement Farming Minister Zeichner said: “Given that the budget for the SFI 2024 scheme
has been fully allocated, any further agreements entered into under the SFI 2024 scheme will need
to be funded from other areas of Defra’s departmental budget.
“My department will announce further details on how this approach will be implemented shortly,
including the timing of when applications from eligible applicants can start.”
In future, the CLA would like to see nature-friendly farming schemes funded appropriately, and
treated by government in the same manner as national infrastructure or public services.
A CLA survey last month found almost 95% of respondents were looking to apply for more SFI
options before it suddenly closed.
