Farmers can sign up for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
from 18 September and start registering their interest from this
Wednesday (30 August) through the online Rural Payments service,
Defra has announced today.
The dates provide certainty and pre-registration will ensure
farmers are supported to have all necessary information in place,
including online maps and land use / cover details, so they are
ready for when the scheme starts to accept applications from 18
September.
The SFI pays farmers for taking actions that support food
production, farm productivity and resilience, whilst protecting
and enhancing environment.
There are 23 actions on offer under the new and improved 2023
scheme, including on soil health, moorland, hedgerows, integrated
pest management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input
grassland.
Secretary of State for Food and Farming Thérèse Coffey said:
The Sustainable Farming Incentive is important for sustainability
- for production and profitability. With opening up the options,
from mid September for everyone, there is likely to be an
opportunity for every eligible farmer to join SFI.
Full details of the SFI 2023 were published in June this year in
a detailed
handbook so that farmers can plan ahead for autumn
planting and what they will apply for.
Unlike existing and previous schemes where farmers have had to
wait until the end of the first year of their agreement to
receive any payment, payments under SFI 2023 will be paid
quarterly to support farmers’ cashflow and activities required in
the scheme.
We have seen sustained increased demand for new CS agreements
increase in recent years, with the number of agreements almost
doubling over 3 years to 2023. This has continued into this year
– we have already had 6,000 applications, with still 4 weeks to
go before the extended deadline.
Following direct feedback from farmers and to enable as many
people as possible to apply, the application window for 2024
Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier agreements has been extended
until Friday 15 September.
Farmers are able to be in SFI and Countryside Stewardship at the
same time as long as the actions are compatible, and they are not
being paid for the same action twice. The confirmed timeline for
SFI allows time for small final technical adjustments to ensure
the service works as straightforwardly as possible for all our
customers and aligns with the closing date for CS.
The Government’s flexible and accessible farming schemes are
supporting farmers to keep the nation fed while protecting and
enhancing our environment – and are all part of the £2.4 billion
annual farming budget ringfenced for the life of this parliament.
