The new and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 has opened this week for applications. The scheme pays farmers in England to take actions that support food production, farm profitability and resilience, whilst protecting and enhancing the environment.
This follows last week’s announcement which confirmed farmers who have a live 2023 agreement before the end of the year will receive an early payment — worth 25% of the value of their agreement — in the first month of their agreement. This will help cashflow and ensure Sustainable Farming Incentive works for thousands of farm businesses. The previous subsidies under the old bureaucratic Common Agriculture Policy were only paid once a year and we continue to use our new Brexit freedoms to ensure greater flexibility for farmers.
Thousands of farm businesses of all types and sizes have already registered their interest with the Rural Payments Agency and I encourage farmers across Sedgfield to apply, including those with Sustainable Farming Incentive 2022 standard agreements, if they haven't already.
DEFRA and the Rural Payments Agency will work to get as many farmers onto the scheme as quickly as possible, so that farmers get payments in their pockets and are rewarded for the enthusiasm with which they are embracing this scheme.
Why should farmers apply to Sustainable Farming Incentive?
- Every farmer who applies and is eligible will get an agreement.
- There is no upper limit on the number of agreements to be issued this year.
- Farmers get paid for actions that support business, food production and the environment.
- Payments will be made quickly and frequently with four payments a year to help with cash flow.
- Farmers with Countryside Stewardship or/and Environmental Stewardship agreements can apply. They can enter the same area of eligible land into an Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement if the requirements explained in the Sustainable Farming Incentive Handbook document is met.
- Farmers with Sustainable Farming Incentive 2022 agreements can express their interest to apply now.
- Farmers can choose how many actions they take. Once in Sustainable Farming Incentive they can add more land and actions to their agreement each year.
The government has committed to maintaining the annual farming budget of £3.1 billion per year for the UK, including £2.4 billion per year for England, for the life of this parliament, with all spend released through reducing area-based subsidy payments made available to benefit the farming sector and farmers in England.
More details of this scheme are available here ,with the formal announcement from DEFRA and the Rural Payments Agency here .