‘We rapidly need to see a clear, long-term vision for the sector’ – community responds to NAO report
30th July 2024
Farming communities have responded to the report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on the Farming and Countryside Programme that has recently been published.
The report revealed that 48% of farmers are ‘not at all positive’ about their future in farming.
What is more, 48% of farmers in 2023 rated their satisfaction with the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) as 8 out of 10 or better, with 81% rating it as 6 out of 10 or better.
The respondents also said that the average time taken to process SFI applications in 2024 was eight days, compared to several months in 2021.
35% of farmers reported that they are feeling confident in the ability of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and its agencies to deliver changes to schemes and regulations.
Key findings
The NAO report on the Farming and Countryside Programme stated that despite accounting only for 0.6% (£13.9 billion) of the economy in 2022, the farming sector in the UK produced 62% of the food we ate in 2023. This increases to 75% when only considering food that is possible to grow in the UK.
Its key findings highlight positive features in the way Defra is managing the Programme, however, it also said that the farming body lacks some data needed to make timely decisions about Programme design changes, increasing the risk of unintended consequences.
The report also claims that Defra is relying on outdated legacy systems, and this has created a risk to the delivery of existing agreements and payments to farmers.
It has been revealed that more than a third of farm businesses covered by Defra’s modelling are likely to need to make productivity improvements to maintain viability after 2028, given the reductions in direct payments.
NAO also highlighted that the advice and support available to farmers is not yet adequate to support them to make the business changes needed.
Read the full report here.
Investing in the future of British agriculture
NFU deputy president David Exwood said: “It’s good to hear from government that it is committed to ELM in order to restore confidence among our members.
“The importance of investing in the future of British agriculture has never been more important to enable our farmers and growers, particularly uplands and tenant farmers, to contribute to UK food security by continuing to produce high quality, safe, and affordable food alongside their work in improving our precious environment.
“We agree with many findings in report from the NAO, which highlights the complexities surrounding ELM and the significant challenges that still exist to ensure schemes have the resources needed to make delivery a success.
“There are still questions to be answered around environmental targets and the need for a fit-for-purpose IT system to help unlock the way the schemes operate.”
Mr Exwood added that there is a need for the government to ensure the long-term budget is available to deliver ELMs in England to help restore farmers confidence in the future.
“We estimate £4bn is required to deliver the government’s commitments. We would also like to see an impact assessment undertaken of the farming and countryside programme to demonstrate how it supports farm businesses to become more productive.
“The NFU awaits further news of the expanded SFI offer for 2024 and next steps in the rollout of other ELM schemes and we will continue to work with Defra and delivery bodies like the RPA to ensure that our members views and concerns are taken into account,” he concluded.
Need for a whole-farm approach
Martin Lines, CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), said that the report “clearly sets out the alarming lack of urgency and ambition of previous Westminster governments in driving the agricultural transition”.
He added: “As the scale of the challenge climate change poses to farmers and food production becomes ever clearer, the need for action has never been more urgent.
“Defra’s decision to prioritise getting farmers into the SFI by giving them a completely free choice over which options they adopt is not only inadequate to the scale of the task at hand but is repeating the mistakes of previous schemes.
“We urgently need a whole-farm approach to the SFI while also giving more attention to the Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery schemes, which have the potential to do most for the environment and nature.
“This report gives the new Labour Government a list of things, that need to be fixed to help get us back on the right track.
“Ministers should rapidly move away from the current pick-and-mix approach to SFI, ensure the other elements of the scheme are well funded and rolled out as quickly as possible, and commit to increasing the agricultural budget in line with the scale of need.
“We rapidly need to see a clear, long-term vision for the sector, which recognises the future of farming depends on a healthy, thriving natural environment.”
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