Richard has welcomed the Government’s Agricultural Transition Plan which will transform the way farmers are supported in the most significant change to farming and land management in 50 years.
The roadmap outlines changes that will come into force over a period of seven years to help farmers adapt and plan for the future. Outside the EU and no longer bound by the EU’s bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy, the plans set out how government plans to introduce a new system that is tailored in the interests of English farmers, centred on support that rewards farmers and land managers for sustainable farming practices.
The changes will be designed to ensure that by 2028, farmers in England can sustainably produce healthy food profitably without subsidy, whilst taking steps to improve the environment, improve animal health and welfare and reduce carbon emissions.
Next year marks the start of the transition where we will begin to move away from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) towards new policies that will be co-designed and tested together with farmers, land managers and experts, to ensure that the new systems work for them. The government remains committed to its manifesto commitment to guarantee the current annual budget for every year of this Parliament.
The ‘Path to Sustainable Farming’, published today, sets out more detail on the changes and what they will mean for farmers.
The key changes include:
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Introducing the Environmental Land Management scheme to incentivise sustainable farming practices, create habitats for nature recovery and establish new woodland to help tackle climate change.
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Investing in improving animal health and welfare as part of our sustainable farming approach. This will initially focus on controlling or eradicating endemic diseases amongst cattle, pigs and sheep .
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Direct Payments will be reduced fairly, starting from the 2021 Basic Payment Scheme year, with the money released being used to fund new grants and schemes to boost farmers’ productivity and reward environmental improvements.
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Launching a Farming Investment Fund, which will support innovation and productivity. This will open for applications next year and will be used to offer grants for equipment, technology and infrastructure for the future.
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Simplifying and improving existing schemes and their application processes further from January 2021 to reduce the burden on farmers, and we will take a modern approach to regulation, cutting unnecessary red tape for farmers and working together with industry to design a more targeted regulatory system.
After a statement to the House of Commons, Richard was able to ask the Secretary of State for reassurances in relation to the implementation of the new scheme.
Commenting, Richard said: "I was grateful for the Secretary of State's reassurances in relation to the implementation of the scheme.
"Rather than the prescriptive, top down rules of the EU era, this government wants to support the choices that farmers and land managers take on their holdings, and will work with them to refine and develop the schemes it brings forward."
