The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has today held meetings with Farming Minister, Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP and RPA Chief Executive, Paul Caldwell to call for urgent measures which either significantly improve the opportunity for farmers to get involved in the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme or delivers other measures which recognise the severe cash flow crisis affecting many farm businesses across England.

TFA Chief Executive George Dunn said “We are encountering huge frustrations amongst TFA members over the lack of progress in rolling out the new schemes in DEFRA’s Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP) that will replace the 50% of Basic Payment Scheme payments set to be lost by the end of next year. For farm businesses already being hit by the impact of significant inflation in inputs and a downturn in market returns, lack of progress in the delivery of the ATP means robust business planning for the medium to long term has become virtually impossible. Additionally, DEFRA's ability to meet its own environmental targets will also be negatively impacted”.

“We are taking views from our members about their plans for engagement with SFI. Around 75% of respondents to a recent TFA survey said that they were planning to enter SFI, most as soon as it was available. Half of these respondents were already engaged with Countryside Stewardship. Clearly, there is an appetite for the new schemes within the farming community and it is therefore hugely disappointing that DEFRA is, as yet, unable to respond to that demand.” said Mr Dunn.

“The announcement from DEFRA on Saturday (26 August) that expressions of interest for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2023 can now be lodged with claims active from 18 September is better news, but it leaves some key questions. With the Countryside Stewardship application window already extended, we need assurances that there will be sufficient capacity within the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to deal with both strands of work alongside its business-as-usual workload,” said Mr Dunn.

“DEFRA and the RPA must now move at pace to provide a straightforward mechanism to allow significant early uptake of SFI. As we have done all along, we will continue to provide robust scrutiny and challenge to DEFRA and the RPA to ensure they deliver. However, we need honesty now. If the pace of necessary implementation cannot be assured, this will be massively damaging to the cash flow of many farm businesses throughout the length and breadth of England and reneges on the promises made to the farming community that new public payments for public goods schemes would be put in place as BPS payments fell away. In this situation the inevitable conclusion is that, until the picture improves, this year’s Basic Payment Scheme reduction should be reversed and further planned reductions put on hold,” said Mr Dunn.

“We also need a clear view of the way ahead, beyond the next election, setting out a forward plan for the ATP scheme by scheme, so that we can continue to meet the joint goals of food and environmental security for our country. SFI will not be appropriate for all farm businesses and therefore we need to ensure that all the elements of the ATP are taken forward to achieve maximum benefit for individual farm businesses and for the delivery of public benefits," said Mr Dunn.

The TFA has scheduled a further meeting with the Farming Minister, Mark Spencer on 14 September to review progress.