Defra speeds up SFI scheme applications with online option

Farmers in England with Countryside Stewardship (CS) or Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements can now apply online for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

From 1 September, any farmer or landowner who has land in a CS or ES agreement, but not on common land, can now apply online for the SFI directly by signing into the Rural Payments service. About 82,000 farmers will be able to access the service directly.

Until now, CS and ES agreement holders were unable to use the online service to apply for the SFI and they had to contact the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) instead.

See also: Assessing the impact of the Sustainable Farming Incentive

But in a blog published on the gov.uk website, Defra said testing for the online service had been working well and it was now able to open it widely.

“In the first few weeks of the new service, we asked farmers with land in Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship to get in touch with the Rural Payments Agency to arrange access to the service,” said the blog.

“We’re finding that our new service is working well for people. As expected, we’re turning around people’s applications much faster than before. It’s currently taking about two weeks and is sometimes quicker. This compares with an average of six months in our SFI pilot.

“Having seen how the online service works for people and refined it based on our learning so far, we’re now ready to allow more farmers to access directly, without needing to contact the RPA first.”

Commons ‘more complex’

However, farmers who wish to apply on common land, or who have common land as part of their farm business on the Rural Payments service, still need to contact the RPA to apply.

Defra said common land was “more complex” because it generally involves multiple parties and rights, but it was “working with commons farmers and other experts to refine the automated service so they access it directly”.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) welcomed the next stage of the SFI application process, saying it is an “encouraging step” towards the full rollout of the Environmental Land Management (ELM) programme.

CLA president Mark Tufnell said: “While we recognise it is a time of uncertainty for farmers, we encourage everyone to look at the new schemes with an open mind. As farmers we do not have to choose between our role in feeding the nation, and our role as stewards of the natural environment. We can do both.

“As a result, it is important that these schemes work, and I encourage our members to contact the CLA, or the RPA, should they need support in understanding the SFI 2022 soil standards and the application process.”

Rolling window

Applications for the SFI opened in June and there is no window, so farmers can apply whenever it suits them.

Farmers and landowners in England who have not already applied for the SFI, but wish to do so, are being urged to read the guidance first on gov.uk, which contains information about eligibility, payment rates and standards.

Defra has also released a video on YouTube about how to apply for the SFI and a podcast featuring SFI lead Jonathan Marsden and Cambridgeshire farmer Martin Lines.