"It's bitterly disappointing": Decision to pause farming payments met with backlash in the South West
DEFRA have announced that SFI payments were fully allocated for this year
Last updated 12th Mar 2025
The Government is facing an angry backlash in the South West over the abrupt closure of its flagship nature-friendly farming payments scheme for new applicants this year.
The Environment Department (Defra) announced late on Tuesday that the sustainable farming incentive SFI, which pays farmers in England for "public goods" such as insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and managing ponds and hedgerows, was fully allocated for this year.
"For those impacted it's going to be a bitter blow," said James Small, a beef and sheep farmer from Cheddar.
"What's really upsetting is the fact there was no notice, no consultation with industry, it was literally 30 minutes notice that the scheme was going to stop.
"I've had a 35 year working lifespan in farming, we're at the absolute lowest I've ever known in terms of confidence and morale," James added.
MP for Frome Anna Sabine, joined farmers in criticising the decision.
"The sudden closure of the SFI fund is nothing short of a cowardly move by the Government showing a complete disregard to farmers and their welfare," Anna Sabine said in a statement.
"The lack of notice period before the closure shows a callous disrespect for a community who have faced blow after blow from the Labour Government and are struggling to survive.”
Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner said: "This Government is proud to have set the biggest budget for sustainable food produce in history, to boost growth in rural communities and all across the UK, under our Plan for Change.
"More farmers are now in schemes and more money is being spent through them than ever before. That is true today and will remain true tomorrow. "
But National Farmers' Union president Tom Bradshaw said: "This is another shattering blow to English farms, delivered yet again with no warning, no understanding of the industry and a complete lack of compassion or care."
He said the industry had warned "time and time again" that large parts of the SFI were poorly designed, and he accused Defra of being a "failing department" with farmers left paying the price for chaos.
"The awful dilemma now faced by many farmers is whether to turn their backs on environmental work and just farm as hard as they can to survive.
"This is a loss to both farming and the environment and cannot be what was intended," he said.
Country Land and Business Association president Victoria Vyvyan described it as the "most cruel" of the "betrayals" so far.
"It actively harms nature. It actively harms the environment.
"And, with war once again raging in Europe, to actively harm our food production is reckless beyond belief," she said.