A survey by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) of its members about the closure of the sustainable farming incentive (SFI) has found that just 4.5% were content they had achieved all they wanted to from the scheme.
The Department of Food, Environment, and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced on March 11 that it was closing the SFI scheme immediately as the entirety of its budget had been allocated.
The sudden closure of the scheme without prior notice resulted in backlash from farm groups and politicians.
The CLA found that of the 312 participants in the survey, 95% said they were looking to apply for more options before the scheme’s closure.
The CLA also found that 54% of its members are currently in an SFI agreement. Another 40% are not, but intended to apply for options in the expanded offer.
The association said many of its members were in the process of getting their applications ready for submission, and had invested in professional advisers before the closure.
There are some cases in which farmers may still apply for the scheme, such as those who were blocked from submitting their applications due to a system fault, or who had requested ‘assisted digital’ support from the RPA to apply.
Ex-SFI-pilot farmers, whose pilot agreement has already ended but who hadn’t applied for the full SFI 2024 offer on land that was in their pilot agreement, can also apply.
The CLA said it raised the issue of the lack of notice of for farmers of the closure of the scheme during roundtable talks with Minister for State for food security and rural affairs, Daniel Zeichner.
Deputy president of the CLA, Gavin Lane, said: “The industry message to Defra was loud and clear: its sudden halting of the SFI scheme and the total lack of communication around its decision has sent shockwaves through the farming sector.”
