75% of SFI26 money allocated within a matter of hours

Fears that the funds available for Window 2 of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) would disappear quickly are coming to fruition with the prospect that many thousands of would-be claimants will be left without crucial support.

The window for applications opened at 10am on Tuesday 22 September with Defra confirming the budget stood at £233m, having rolled over an extra £3m unclaimed from Window 1.

See also: SFI26 Window 2 opens amid £233m funding scramble

Within two hours Defra had issued a statement saying 25% of that funding had been allocated, and an hour-and-a-half later – at 13.22pm – it issued a second statement saying 50% of the money had gone.

Little more than an hour later, word came through that 75% had been claimed by farmers and landowners, desperate for support during the ongoing cashflow crisis.

Defra farming minister Stephen Morgan said: “This funding backs farmers to strengthen their businesses, produce more sustainably and build a stronger, more resilient countryside.

“We built this scheme to be more focused, more transparent and fairer, and farmers are responding.”

‘No surprise’

Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn said it was no surprise to see the money going so fast.

“We anticipated this would be the case, with a lot of land agents waiting with a queue of applications, ready to hit go as soon as the window opened,” added Mr Dunn.

“This happened in June with Window 1, and our hope is that it will now slow down.”

However, he acknowledged that while in Window 1, 25% of the £60m available went within 24 hours, it was three days later before 50% was used.

“This scheme is open to a much wider pool of applicants, and it is significantly worrying that we are already more than three-quarters through the fund,” Mr Dunn said.

IT glitches

There have also been reports of several glitches with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) computer system, which have resulted in some farmers struggling to get their applications accepted.

Natalie Gaibani, head of farming for Strutt & Parker, said her team was reporting a range of errors that was making an already stressful process even harder – especially given how quickly the budget is disappearing.

“We were promised that the new system would allow farmers with existing agreements coming to an end to apply for new agreements.

“But we are finding that, in a number of cases, the system is flagging clashing actions, so it is not letting people select the options they should be able to. Available field areas are also not showing correctly.

“Where agents are trying to call the RPA to resolve issues, they are finding themselves in hours-long queues or told to leave a number and someone will call them back.”

Ms Gaibani said that, in these instances, they are submitting an application as close as possible to the agreed plan and will be emailing the RPA afterwards to outline all the problems.

Next iteration

Mr Dunn said some of his members had reported similar issues.

However, even if these IT computer glitches are sorted, many farmers will still not get into SFI26, which is why it is so important Defra gives a clear indication of what the next iteration – SFI27 – will look like, and when it will open.

Country Land and Business Association deputy president Joe Evans said the lack of budget for SFI26 would jeopardise the ability of farmers to continue delivering for the environment on behalf of society.

“Today has been a scramble for thousands of farmers desperately trying not to be left behind, and we urge Defra to provide clear guidance to farmers who, despite their best efforts, will be unlucky and fail to secure an SFI26 agreement.”