Gove reveals model for post-Brexit green scheme

Defra secretary Michael Gove has given the industry one of its strongest indications of how agri-funding will look post Brexit after revealing the first agri-environment scheme to be directly paid for by the UK.

The Results-Based Agri-environment Payment Scheme (RBAPS) is a governmental payment by results (PBR) instrument that aims to achieve domestic policy goals through the setting of specific targets.

See also: Farmers ahead of the game on conservation

The agricultural PBR pilot scheme currently pays participating farmers in Norfolk, Suffolk and North Yorkshire based on the environmental goods individuals provide.

“This approach signals how we see the future of farm payments, where farmers deliver public goods for the environment which we all enjoy.”
Michael Gove

Under the initiative, farmers receive cash for implementing tailor-made management plans for their own land, allowing them to choose the most suitable method to achieve agreed end results – the greater the result, the more they get paid.

Farmers in Norfolk and Suffolk have already received cash for planting nectar plots for bees and other pollinators, while participants in North Yorkshire have made pastures into habitats for wading birds alongside restoring and conserving species-rich hay meadows.

EU funding

Funding for a three-year pilot trial of RBAPS had initially come from the EU and was due to run out at the end of the year.

But the announcement from the secretary of state will pump an additional £540,000 into the project, keeping the scheme open for a further two years.

“Under the CAP, agri-environment schemes have been overly bureaucratic and inflexible,” said Mr Gove.  

“This has impeded innovation for farmers who are passionate about the environment and want to see real change.”

The secretary of state said the scheme marked a shift in how Defra rewarded farmers for their work.

“This approach signals how we see the future of farm payments, where farmers deliver public goods for the environment which we all enjoy.”

Mr Gove added: “I am delighted to extend this scheme and look forward to seeing further evidence of its success as we plan for our future outside the EU.”