The latest round of the popular Countryside Stewardship
Facilitation Fundhas opened today (7 November), giving groups
of farmers and landowners in England the opportunity to work
together and share knowledge to protect and enhance the local
environment, in line with their local Countryside Stewardship
priorities.
The £2.5 million fund encourages collaboration between farming
groups and supports Government efforts to improve the environment
and create cleaner, greener landscapes. The fund is an important
part of the Rural Payments Agency’s aim to support agricultural
and rural communities across the country.
The funding allows facilitators, for example local farming and
nature groups and charities, to give advice and share knowledge
with groups of farmers and other land managers on activities such
as restoring habitats for wildlife and improving biodiversity,
creating woodland, improving air and water quality, or restoring
historic environments.
Farming Minister said:
By joining forces on shared environmental ambitions, farmers and
landowners are able to deliver a greater positive impact on our
landscape than they could ever achieve alone.
This Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund is already helping
to bring farmers and landowners together for the benefit of
nature and the environment, and I encourage farming communities
across England to consider applying.
Paul Caldwell, Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency said:
I am delighted we are able to provide farmers and landowners with
another opportunity to come together on projects to improve their
local environment.
We want to see uptake from new and existing groups to deliver
large-scale environmental improvement in their local areas,
create valuable connections and share farming knowledge.
Marian Spain, Chief Executive of Natural England, said:
Countryside Stewardship and the farmers and land managers who
take up the scheme make a vital contribution to delivering the
Government’s environmental commitments, including the statutory
target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030.
By bringing groups of land managers together in pursuit of
positive habitat management and species re-introductions, the
Facilitation Fund leads to long term initiatives for nature
recovery where partnerships strengthen delivery on the ground.
Natural England works closely with farming groups and we look
forward to supporting further groups via the fund as they nurture
wildlife-rich habitats that provide clean water and air and
underpin sustainable food production.
This is the seventh round of the Countryside Stewardship
Facilitation Fund under the current Rural Development Programme
for England. 180 groups with over 4,000 members have benefited
from the funding so far, with this round of funding expected to
benefit more than 40 further groups.
Previous projects to have benefited have include:
- Running demonstration days in timber extraction and wood
processing in Morecambe Bay
- Exploring measures to reduce flooding along the
Glenderamackin river in the Lake District
- Improving farmers’ understanding of ground nesting birds in
the Upper Nidderdale
- Helping to reconnect farmers with nature and improving their
confidence in conservation farming in the White Peak
The fund supports the delivery of the 25 Year Environmental Plan,
and is a part of Defra’s plans for a renewed agricultural sector,
centred around incentivising sustainable farming practices
alongside profitable food production.
The application window is open from 7 November until 25 January
2023.
