The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) is warning that up to half
of tenant farmers may be excluded from new Government schemes
developed to replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and
access to developing markets for carbon and biodiversity offsets.
TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said “Up to half of the
tenanted sector of agriculture in England and Wales operates
under Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs) which are characterised both
by very short lengths of term and restrictive clauses. In many
cases tenants are not allowed to enter Government schemes for the
improvement of the environment without their landlord’s consent
and it is also often the case that landlords themselves reserve
the right to take the benefit of new schemes themselves. It is
also the case that landlords often reserve the right to the
benefit of private arrangements for carbon and biodiversity
offsetting”.
“The TFA recognises the opportunity to develop new schemes
targeting the environment and new markets for positive carbon and
biodiversity management which will replace funding under the CAP
over time. However, we cannot support a situation where the
funding is removed from tenant farmers and is received instead by
their landlords. Landlords are entitled to receive rent in return
for granting exclusive occupation of their land to active
farmers. They should not be able to capitalise directly through
Government schemes and other arrangements,” said Mr Dunn.
“Despite the TFA’s strong lobbying, it is unfortunate that the
Government decided not to include provisions within the
Agriculture Act which would have protected access to new schemes
for tenants occupying under FBTs. The Government must now address
these issues through the way it designs schemes to protect access
for tenant farmers,” said Mr Dunn.
Farm tenants must also pay particular attention to the detail of
any new tenancy agreements they are asked to sign. Even where it
seems that the agreements are allowing tenants to access schemes,
they may end up restricting the tenant in other ways.
TFA Recommended Professional, Philip Meade, from Davis Meade
Property Consultants, said “We are becoming increasingly
concerned about some of the clauses being used in the development
of standard ‘template’ FBTs which insist on the tenant obtaining
and maintaining maximum rights and entitlements under any new
Government schemes. Davis Meade Property Consultants is part of a
consortium that is working on some ground-breaking proposals for
farming involving private sector funding which could be far more
lucrative and flexible than some of the proposed Government
schemes. It would be a lost opportunity (for both landlords and
tenants) to see tenancies restricted to Government schemes only
precluding prospects for working with the private sector.”
