Delays to the launch of the new payment scheme are "unacceptable", says the NFU

Defra has announced that the launch of SFI will not be until mid-September, following assurances that the scheme would be ready for August 2023.

Farmers can now express their interest in SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive) 2023 and will be able to apply from September 18, with the delay in an expected August roll-out meaning that the earliest adopters will not see money arrive in their accounts until January 2024.

The NFU said the “unacceptable” delay fell short of one of the key tests for the scheme’s delivery.

The later-than-expected timeline comes following problems for those applying for the Countryside Stewardship scheme’s Mid Tier, with applicants seeing the deadline there pushed back by four weeks owing to application delays and IT glitches.

NFU vice-president David Exwood said: “This timeline is much later than farmers were led to expect and, as a result, most will not receive any SFI payments this year, one of the key tests for delivery of the scheme.

“Against a backdrop of farming businesses continuing to face huge economic challenges, facing into at least a 50 per cent reduction in the current direct payments in 2023, and continued high farm input inflation, this failure to deliver SFI and Countryside Stewardship reliably is totally unacceptable.

“With the scale of the roll out of SFI 23 still unclear and with many farmers still not sure what they need to do to apply, the current situation needs to be resolved quickly.

“For the sake of British food and farming, Defra has to get the SFI policy right, and soon.”

David continued: “It is absolutely vital that Defra provides complete transparency of how the agricultural budget is being spent.

"Farmers are the custodians of our countryside, they provide the raw ingredients for our country’s food and drink sector, worth some £100bn, and yet the policies that should support this vital sector are fundamentally missing.”

Defra opened a pre-registration window from August 30 to help smooth the application process. It said this would ensure farmers had all necessary information in place ahead of an application.