Suffolk MP Therese Coffey concerned at take-up of SFI scheme

Former environment secretary Thérèse Coffey told the House of Commons that of 305 farms in Suffolk Coastal which are eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) - which is being phased out - only 55 have applied for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in this current year.

She has raised concern that farmers might be opting out of food production because of the way the incentives work.

SFI is one of the new options available to farmers under the Environmental Land Management scheme, which aims to reward farmers for providing "public goods" alongside food production, including climate change mitigation, supporting biodiversity and improving water quality.

"We need a county by county analysis to get a sense of whether farmers are taking up the opportunities that are there, listen and get feedback. Being alert to these issues and making any required changes is crucial,” she said.

She called on her former department - the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) -  to finish the analysis she commissioned to ensure the government’s Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs) isn’t skewing the incentives so farmers opt out of food production. Dr Coffey resigned from her DEFRA role in November, ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle.

Dr Coffey - who was taking part in a debate about farming - said the Rural Payments Agency - which organises payments for farmers - needed to be more agile in supporting Suffolk farmers.

The SFI aims to reward farmers for "farming practices that help produce food sustainably and protect the environment".

“As secretary of state, I changed the SFI from 2024 onwards so many farmers, like pig farmers, that were previously excluded can now secure funding," she said.

“Since leaving the EU, we’ve moved from a scheme that paid farmers and landowners for how much land they had to one based on supporting the environment and on providing grants to help their farms become more sustainable," she added.

"In the past, half the money went to just 10% of landowners. The change opens up the opportunity for many more to get involved and crucially it does not stop farming.”

Farmers should always be "at the forefront of our minds when we think of the food that we eat, the animals we see and the countryside we enjoy", she told the Common this week.

She also raised other issues with ministers on behalf of Suffolk farmers including deregulation, skills and water challenges.

During her 18 minute speech, she highlighted the success of the Felixstowe Hydrocycle scheme - which involves fresh drainage water which would otherwise be pumped out to sea being used to fill participating farm reservoirs in the area - as she raised the issue of water supply on farms.

She urged her successor, Steve Barclay, to pursue permitted development rights for small level reservoirs.