Recommendations & Conclusions
19 items
1
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
The scale of environmental, social and economic change facing English farming cannot be understated. This includes the global challenge of climate change and the need to operate in new trading conditions, but it also includes the Government’s decision to fundamentally change the basis of agricultural policy. The agricultural transition must …
Government response. The Government welcomes the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s report on the environmental land management schemes and the agricultural transition. The Government’s Agricultural Transition Plan sets out our plans for a seven-year transition period. During this time we …
2
Recommendation
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
Considerable uncertainty remains about how the 7-year agricultural transition will affect English farming. As direct payments are withdrawn, there is a risk that farmers will resort to less environmentally sustainable methods to make up for lost income, leave the sector or go out of business entirely. We are concerned that …
Government response. In 2018 and 2019 we published information on the removal of Direct Payments and the evidence that underpinned the changes we were making. Each year we also publish updated data on farming income. The Agricultural Transition Plan sets out our …
3
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
Defra has put insufficient emphasis and care into managing the process of transition itself, and there is a risk that this will be a haphazard process leading to unintended consequences. Ministers’ absolute determination to press ahead with the timescale for phasing out direct payments and introducing ELM, even when confronted …
Government response. In 2018 and 2019 we published information on the removal of Direct Payments and the evidence that underpinned the changes we were making. Each year we also publish updated data on farming income. The Agricultural Transition Plan sets out our …
4
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
The Committee commends Defra’s commitment to co-designing the agricultural transition, and appreciates the challenges involved. However, there appears to be a disconnect in the co-design process between listening to stakeholders and being seen Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition 41 to act on this feedback. The benefits of effective …
Government response. We have a comprehensive engagement strategy and programme of engagement and co- design in place, to ensure we maximise our reach and bring the voice of farmers into our work. We are planning to increase our activities in this area …
5
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
We are pleased that Defra’s engagement has improved over the last year, but delays in communication due to delays in policy development have already impacted farmers’ ability to plan for the significant changes ahead. Defra itself cannot directly reach every farmer, but it is essential that every farmer and land …
Government response. We have a comprehensive engagement strategy and programme of engagement and co- design in place, to ensure we maximise our reach and bring the voice of farmers into our work. We are planning to increase our activities in this area …
6
Recommendation
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
We are concerned that Defra is already in the process of delivering its multi-billion pound ELM programme, representing the biggest change to farming policy in decades and a central delivery mechanism for the Government’s environmental goals, without having published any measurable objectives. We understand that the process of developing objectives …
Government response. In January 2022 we published more information on the expected outcomes from the environmental land management schemes. This document confirmed that, alongside food production, they will improve water quality, biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, air quality, natural flood management, …
7
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
The Government has been clear that the success of ELM is critical to meeting its environmental ambitions, but this will require huge uptake of the scheme and the funding to ensure that. If farmers are to enter into multi-year agreements to deliver public goods, they deserve a clear guarantee that …
Government response. As set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan in 2020, the Government is committed to supporting farmers through a 7-year agricultural transition period that will see untargeted Direct Payments repurposed, allowing us to continue to support agriculture in different ways. …
8
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
A substantial proportion of farmed land in England is tenanted, and common land accounts for a significant percentage of land delivering important public goods such as biodiversity and public access. It is important that the particular needs of 42 Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition tenants and commoners are …
Government response. Each of the new environmental land management schemes will be accessible to farmers in the uplands, commons and on tenanted land. We are actively engaged with representatives across each of these sectors to make sure that scheme design works in …
9
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
Upland livestock farmers have often been among the most dependent on direct payments, but there is also evidence that existing agri-environment schemes have reduced income stability for upland livestock farmers in less favoured areas. Those farming the uplands, and tenanted and common land, will face particular challenges during the agricultural …
Government response. Each of the new environmental land management schemes will be accessible to farmers in the uplands, commons and on tenanted land. We are actively engaged with representatives across each of these sectors to make sure that scheme design works in …
10
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
It is important that ELM supports the delivery of a full range of public goods. Biodiversity and net zero are crucial objectives, but Defra should not lose sight of the invaluable role that farmers and land managers can also play in supporting public access to the countryside, and maintaining heritage …
Government response. In January 2022 we published more information on the expected outcomes from the environmental land management schemes. This document confirmed that, alongside food production, they will improve water quality, biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, air quality, natural flood management, …
11
Recommendation
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
It is important that the Sustainable Farming Incentive does not repeat the failures of previous agri-environment schemes like Entry Level Stewardship, which achieved high uptake but failed to drive significant environmental delivery. It must also not create perverse incentives or fail to reward existing good practice. The SFI should form …
Government response. Sustainable Farming Incentive delivery will be based on a suite of standards that go beyond the legal regulatory baseline. Each standard will be made up of different levels of ambition or payment rates. As environmental performance increases with each level …
12
Recommendation
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
A degree of simplicity may be necessary in order to achieve high SFI uptake, and we acknowledge that an approach based on specific actions and parcels of land will work for many farmers. However, Defra should not miss opportunities to also support a more ambitious whole-farm approach to delivering public …
Government response. We do want to support a whole-farm approach to environmental land management, and we are continuing to investigate the potential role of land management plans and other elements of policy design to support this through the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot. …
13
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
We share the concerns of many that the existing approach to calculating payments based on “income foregone” will be unattractive to farmers and ineffective for the environment. Payments for environmental actions need to fairly and fully represent Environmental Land Management and the agricultural transition 43 the management costs associated with …
Government response. We are designing our new schemes to be attractive to farmers and land managers. This involves a wider range of factors alongside payments, including fairer and more supportive controls, accessible and relevant actions that make sense and have a clear …
14
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
We acknowledge that Defra has announced higher payment rates for the SFI in 2022, but farmers still lack the full details on payment rates across ELM that would enable them to start planning now. We also welcome Defra publishing new information on its payment principles, but the Department itself has …
Government response. We are designing our new schemes to be attractive to farmers and land managers. This involves a wider range of factors alongside payments, including fairer and more supportive controls, accessible and relevant actions that make sense and have a clear …
15
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
High quality advice, which is appropriate to the individual farm and takes into account the specific local conditions, is essential if farmers are to be productive and deliver environmental benefits. We acknowledge Defra’s intention that the Sustainable Farming Incentive should not require expert advice, but this should not mean that …
Government response. We are committed to providing quality advice to farmers working with the market where it makes sense to do so. We want the schemes to be user friendly, and easy to access and engage with, so that advice can focus …
16
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
Evidence suggests that some farmers currently do not pay for environmental advice because it is not deemed commercially relevant to them. As the focus of farm payments moves to public goods, it is important that these farmers are supported to access the advice that they will need to ensure they …
Government response. We are committed to providing quality advice to farmers working with the market where it makes sense to do so. We want the schemes to be user friendly, and easy to access and engage with, so that advice can focus …
17
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
ELM must be accessible and avoid the bureaucratic barriers to entry and punitive regulations which plagued previous agri-environment schemes. We welcome Defra’s commitment to improving their approach to regulation and enforcement, but emphasise the importance of delivering on these promises to build confidence and promote the uptake of ELM, lifting …
Government response. We will design the environmental land management schemes in partnership with farmers so that they are simple, both to apply for and to deliver. For example, the Sustainable Farming Incentive application process and any associated paperwork will be as straightforward …
18
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
Past experience has shown the potential for failures in digital delivery to do real damage to farmers’ trust in Government. We recognise that Defra has decided to initially use a simplified version of existing systems rather than attempting to build something from scratch. However, the Government’s plans for ELM are …
Government response. We are confident in our IT delivery for the environmental land management schemes – we have learned the lessons of the past, and we are following best practice guidance on service design and delivery. The latest Infrastructure and Projects Authority …
19
Conclusion
Second Report - Environmental Land Mana…
We note that we are nearing the end of the first year of a seven-year agricultural transition, and Defra does not yet appear to have made key decisions about which bodies will be responsible for delivering the biggest change to farm support in decades. It is only fair to farmers, …
Government response. In our 2 December 2021 detailed policy statement on the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, we confirmed that the RPA will be responsible for administering the Sustainable Farming Incentive. The RPA is also administering the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot. The pilot …