The 25% Solution: Defra’s Approach to Harmonizing Agriculture and Environment

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme was introduced in 2021 by The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and began being rolled out in September 2023. The SFI pays farmers and land managers to take up and maintain sustainable farming and land management practices that protect the environment and support food production whilst also improving productivity.

Less than a year since its implementation on 26 March 2024, Defra announced a restriction on SFI. Under the new rules only a maximum of 25% of a farm’s land can be taken out of food production and placed into the SFI scheme. This is a concerted effort from Defra to try and strike a balance between environmental sustainability and the need for greater food production.

This decision is a response to concerns from the farming community that too much land was being diverted away from food production and into environmental schemes. While the SFI scheme is designed to encourage sustainable farming practices, there is also a recognition of the primary objective, that of course being food production. Hence the need to put in place some target restrictions. The six SFI actions affected by this cap are those that take land out of direct food production. Evidence showed that a small percentage of farmers applying for SFI in 2023, entered 80% or more of their farm into actions that involved taking land out of food production. This cap will now safeguard against this.

This change underscores the delicate balance that must be struck between environmental stewardship and food production. It highlights the ongoing challenge of ensuring that sustainability initiatives like the SFI scheme contribute positively to both the environment and the agricultural sector.

This comes at a time when our Welsh neighbours have recently announced the Sustainable Farming Scheme which will be introduced in 2026. The stated aims are to secure food production systems whilst safeguarding the environment simultaneously. Requirements to apply to the scheme requires farmers to have at least 10% tree cover on their farmland and to manage at least 10% of land as semi-natural habitats. This has been contentious and no doubt marks a significant shift in agricultural policy in Wales.

I highlight this as it will be an ongoing challenge to simultaneously safeguard the environment, whilst also ensuring that food production is secure and rural life and farmers’ ability to be profitable is also protected. The difficulty of this is almost tangible and will require flexibility and adaptability from both Defra and the rural community in order to strike the perfect balance.