Defra Publish Details of Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published details for the new the pilot of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. Expressions of interest for the pilot will open from Monday 15 March.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the first of three schemes to be piloted that will reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods like biodiversity, cleaner water, cleaner air, improving soil, and carbon reduction on their land. Details on the Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery schemes will come later this year.

In the first phase of the pilot, participants will be able to select from an initial set of eight standards to build their own agreements. The standards will promote cleaner air and water, and guard against environmental risks such as climate change and flooding. Within each standard there are three levels for participants to choose from – Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced.