The European Commission’s so-called greening
requirements for Direct Payments have required farmers
to carry out specified practices in order to qualify
for additional payments. These requirements have
historically delivered little for the environment, as
was documented in the European
Court of Auditors 2017 Special Report on greening.
Under government plans to simplify the Basic Payment
Scheme (BPS) and cut red tape faced by farmers during
the agricultural transition period, farmers will have a
reduced administrative burden and will no longer have
to comply with the so called greening requirements with
effect from the 2021 scheme year.
These changes will not affect the overall payment
received by each farmer as the money will instead be
added to farmers’ entitlements under the Basic Payment
Scheme.
The agricultural transition period will last for seven
years and see Direct Payments to farmers in England
phased out and replaced with a new system that rewards
farmers for delivering public goods, such as tree or
hedge planting, river management to mitigate flooding,
and creating or restoring habitats for wildlife. The
new Environmental Land Management scheme, expected to
be rolled out in late 2024, will introduce new ways of
working together with farmers to deliver better
environmental outcomes and reverse the decline of some
of our most cherished species.
Environment Secretary, ,
said:
The so-called greening requirements have added little
to our environmental efforts. We believe that farmers
will benefit from this reduced bureaucratic burden
next year as we begin the move towards our new
Environmental Land Management scheme which will
deliver greater benefits for the environment.
We will be setting out more detail in the autumn on
how we will ensure a smooth transition for our
farmers, as they move towards our new, fairer
agricultural system, which will reward them for the
hard work that they do to protect our environment.
The planned phasing out of Direct Payments will take
place gradually to give farmers the time to adapt to
the changes. In the majority of cases, the gradual
reduction in these payments will be offset by
alternative support being made available to help
farmers improve their productivity and aid their
transition into the new Environmental Land Management
scheme.
Farmers will also continue to be able to apply to
Countryside Stewardship schemes until the future scheme
is rolled out.
The national conversation around the future
Environmental Land Management scheme is open until July
31, with farmers warmly invited to share their views on
a policy
discussion document available on CitizenSpace.
Further details on plans for the agricultural
transition period will be set out in Autumn 2020.
