Farming payments of £1,000 after Brexit are "too little, too late," according to NFU

 Incentives for the environment are included in the government's plan to replace the EU Common Agricultural Policy.

Thu jan 5, 2023 10:45 GMT

As the government modifies post-Brexit subsidies to agriculture, farmers will get additional payments of up to £1,000 year for preserving nature and the environment.

The government's method for replacing the heavily criticised common agricultural policy of the EU would include the higher payments under the environmental land management schemes (Elms), which are the cornerstone of the system (CAP).

Leaders in agriculture, however, argued that the amounts were insufficient for farmers' needs and that many payment specifics remained unclear. The statements "risked being too little, too late," according to the National Farmers' Union.

Mark Spencer, the UK's minister for agriculture, revealed the new payments on Thursday at the Oxford Farming Conference, a significant occasion in the country's agricultural calendar. Since the successive prime ministers last year provided mixed signals about the system's future, ministers have been under pressure for months about Elms.

Spencer urged farmers to participate in the programmes, which offer rewards for actions taken to enhance biodiversity and environment management on their property. This year, take another look at the environmental land management schemes and consider what alternatives and grants would assist support your farm, he added in his challenge to the sector.

Spencer claimed that Elms were remained the centrepiece of the government's agriculture strategy, in sharp contrast to the months of uncertainty about their future during Liz Truss' administration.

"The nation depends on its farmers to protect our landscapes and produce the high-quality food we are known for, and we are increasing payment rates to ensure farmers are not out of pocket for doing the right thing by the environment," he said. "Farmers are the custodians of more than 70% of our countryside.

I want farmers to understand how well these programmes work for business, regardless of the amount of your stake, therefore I'm expanding funding in them.

Spencer's intervention was made in an effort to restore public trust in the government's management of UK agriculture in the face of the industry's unprecedented turmoil, which was brought on by the cost of living crisis, skyrocketing energy and fertiliser prices, the effects of Covid-19, and Brexit.

However, rural specialists argued that the government's proposals fell well short of what was necessary to guarantee a bright future for the devastated industry. Although food prices are high, many farmers are struggling since payments under the previous farm assistance programme, known as basic payments and based on the EU's CAP, which pays farmers based on the quantity of land they grow, have already been reduced by 20%.

"I regret that farmers and producers are making critical long-term choices that are fundamental to operating successful and profitable food-producing companies without the key clarification needed on Elms and alternatives that will be available," said David Exwood, vice president of the NFU. Despite the fact that some of these most recent reforms are positive, they run the danger of being too little, too late, particularly in light of the economic difficulties we are currently facing and the quick decline in direct payments [under the old agricultural assistance regime].

"It's a sad reflection of the scheme's progress and evolution," he continued, "that NFU members are more aware of the direct payments they would lose than the benefits they will receive from participating in these new initiatives."

More urgency and information are required, according to Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association, which represents close to 30,000 landowners and rural companies. "Today's statement demonstrates that the administration is paying attention to agricultural concerns and adjusting. It lessens uncertainty, encourages accurate values, and strengthens incentives for more farmers to participate in the programmes. Although all of this is positive, the pace of events is simply too sluggish. We've heard a lot of promises for future improvements, but what we really need are specifics on payment rates and requirements until 2023," he added.

"We think the government's strategy on elms has the potential to be world-leading, but it has to be supported by a world-leading government operation. The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) is working hard; they just need to move more rapidly.

Farmers that enrol in the "sustainable farming incentive" (SFI) plan, which focuses on measures to nurture soils, will get a new "management payment" for the first 50 hectares (123 acres) at a cost of £20 per hectare under the rise in payments. According to Defra, this should cover the enrollment administration expenses and draw smaller firms, especially tenant farms, who are presently underrepresented.

Farmers that participate in countryside stewardship agreements, which also compel them to make environmental improvements, will see a 10% increase in their payment rates. Rates for large-scale initiatives, such establishing new hedgerows, will increase by around 50%. Approximately 30,000 farmers are presently a part of the countryside stewardship programme.

Payments for tree health and forest development will also be revised. The range of hikes should cost farmers a total of approximately £1,000.

That, according to shadow agricultural minister Daniel Zeichner, is not enough. That won't do it for me, I can't image folks leaping up and down and striking the ceiling. That minuscule sum, in my opinion, won't make any impact at all. "Unfortunately, it's difficult to see how environmental plans would restore the money that was lost (in direct payments). Labor is dedicated to making these programmes successful, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem that the current administration shares that commitment. Farmers are losing thousands upon thousands of dollars.

The Guardian also reported that adoption of the new programmes has been sluggish thus far. Under the sustainable agricultural incentive plan, the first component of the Elms reforms, just 224 payments have been made so far.

To replace the EU system of payments based on the amount of land farmed, which favours the largest landowners with the least need of support, with payments for protecting the countryside, a system of "public money for public goods," Elms were first introduced by Michael Gove in 2018 as part of the biggest shake-up of British farming in 40 years.

However, the transition has been tough, and farmers' concerns have grown as the £3 billion in annual subsidies they get from the EU are steadily reduced.