Defra launches Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot

Defra last week published details of the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot scheme it is running, and today opens the pilot for expressions of interest. The Sustainable Farming Incentive will support approaches to farming that deliver for the environment, including regarding water quality and quantity.

The pilot will build on an ongoing programme of tests and trials, which already involve over 3,000 farmers and other land managers. The tests and trials focus on trying out individual parts of the future scheme, whereas the pilot will test a working version of the scheme from start to finish. 

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the first of three schemes to be piloted and co-designed to replace the Common Agricultural Policy following the UK’s exit from the EU. Defra plans to share further information on the other two schemes, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery later this year. The three schemes will reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods like biodiversity, cleaner water, cleaner air, improving soil, and carbon reduction on their land.