The Environment Secretary has today announced that the Payment
by Results (PBR) project will be the first agri-environment
scheme directly funded by the UK.
In future, all the funding for the PBR pilot will come from
Defra, with a £540,000 boost announced today to pay farmers
according to the environmental outcomes they achieve over the
next two years.
The project is paying participating farmers for work that is
specifically tailored to the environmental needs of their area.
For example, in Norfolk and Suffolk farmers are benefitting
from planting nectar plots for bees and other pollinators,
while those in Wensleydale are focused on managing species-rich
meadows.
Today’s announcement follows the government’s public
consultation on future farming policy which set out plans
to move towards a system where farmers are paid according to
the public goods they provide. As we leave the EU, there will
be further trialling work to reach a model where profitable
farm businesses and environmental land management can co-exist
and complement one another.
Secretary of State for Defra said:
“Under the CAP, agri-environment schemes have been overly
bureaucratic and inflexible. This has impeded innovation for
farmers who are passionate about the environment and want to
see real change.
“The Payment by Results pilot marks a shift in how we think
about rewarding farmers for their work. This approach signals
how we see the future of farm payments, where farmers deliver
public goods for the environment which we all enjoy.
“I am delighted to extend this scheme and look forward to
seeing further evidence of its success as we plan for our
future outside the EU.”
The PBR project had been due to conclude at the end of this
year, but Defra’s new funding will enable participating farmers
to deliver environmental benefits for an additional two years.
The trial is focused on providing training and guidance for
farmers so they are empowered to create their own management
plan for their land, and feel more knowledgeable about what
they want to achieve, and why. This flexibility has meant
participants have become more engaged in the wildlife they want
to see on their land and think more creatively about how to
achieve these results.
In Wensleydale, the Payments by Results (PBR) pilot is
delivered by Natural England in partnership with the Yorkshire
Dales National Park Authority. It has proved popular with
participating sheep and cattle farmers managing grassland in
the area, who have been rewarded for producing habitat suitable
for breeding waders, or for managing species-rich meadows.
Arable farmers in Norfolk and Suffolk have been paid for their
management of plots that provide winter food for farmland birds
during the “hungry gap” when natural sources of seed food have
been depleted. They have also planted and maintained
flower-rich foraging habitat for pollinators, protecting this
hugely important part of the ecosystem.
Chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Carl
Lis, said:
“I am delighted that the Government has funded an extension and
expansion of the Wensleydale payment by results pilot scheme.
The pilot scheme has been a hit with farmers because it has
been designed and delivered locally – and because it puts the
farmer back in control of how the land is managed, rather than
having to follow very detailed and rigid
prescriptions.
“With support from our farm team advisers, and the Natural
England Project Manager, the 19 farmers in the scheme have
produced some excellent environmental results in a short
time. They have received payments for making their
pastures into good habitat for wading birds, or for restoring
and conserving species-rich hay meadows – which are no doubt
the jewel in the crown of the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s
farmed landscape. The better the
environmental results, the more they get paid.”
