SFI26 funding allocated in hours
The money for the second round of SFI has now been allocated meaning many will miss out on funding
The government's Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) second window opened around 10am yesterday morning and within hours the total pot of £233 million had been allocated.
The money was allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis meaning many farmers and land managers will have missed out on funding purely down to this fastest finger first approach.
Responding to the news, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) East Director Cath Crowther said:
“If the government wants farmers to make long-term decisions for nature, climate and food production, it must provide long-term certainty. Today, thousands of farmers were trying to access SFI26 window 2.
“Demand was exceptionally high, with the entire budget going in the first few hours. This is because SFI is now a crucial part of many farm businesses. Yet applications are opening in the middle of autumn drilling, when many farmers are already working flat out.
“We have always been clear that in this round of SFI, there was insufficient budget allocated to enable 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.
“The enthusiasm for SFI should be welcomed. It demonstrates that farmers want to deliver environmental outcomes alongside food production and are committed to improving nature, climate resilience and water quality.
"But when demand exceeds funding, government risks undermining confidence in the very schemes it relies upon to achieve those ambitions.”
CLA East would like to hear your experiences of applying for the SFI26 funding. Please email east@cla.org.uk.