Sustainable Farming Incentive closure: CLA calls for urgent action
CLA meets with Minister and urges launch of revised scheme as soon as possible
CLA Deputy President Gavin Lane has met with the Farming Minister to highlight the devastating impact of the sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme.
He attended a roundtable with Daniel Zeichner and other industry bodies to discuss the government’s ambitions for farming.
During the meeting, he queried the lack of notice given before the closure of SFI, noting the financial hardship placed on farmers and how damaging it has been to industry confidence in Defra.
The Minister said Defra was committed to working with industry bodies in the formulation of the next SFI scheme.
Speaking after the meeting, Gavin said: “The industry message to Defra was loud and clear: its sudden halting of the SFI scheme and the total lack of communication around its decision has sent shockwaves through the farming sector.
It is astounding that there were seemingly no checks and balances, or monitoring of the scheme, to ensure we did not get into this situation, and even more astonishing that the government did not contact industry when it first identified the issue.
“Trust has been broken and urgent action is now needed if Defra is to stand any chance of rebuilding confidence. The revised version of SFI must be launched as soon as possible, working with the industry to design a scheme that is transparent and accessible to all farmers and landowners, to benefit nature, the environment and food production.”
Below, watch Gavin's plea to the government from his farm in Norfolk.
Following the meeting, the CLA has been involved in a joint letter with other industry bodies to the farming minister, urging, at a minimum, for the government to support the thousands of farmers who were in the middle of a SFI application before it was closed.
The CLA continues to engage with ministers and MPs to try and mitigate the impact of these changes, as well as shape any future scheme.