The British Free Range Producers Association (BFREPA) and British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) were among organisations that met with food security and rural affairs minister Daniel Zeichner in a roundtable organised by the NFU to discuss the surprise closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).
Those attending called on the Minister to unlock the SFI scheme for the thousands of farmers who have begun agreements but are now unable to be paid for the work they have completed and provide more information about the future of the SFI scheme.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “The closure of SFI is a devastating shock for farmers and leaves businesses on a knife edge when they were already struggling with the impact of the changes to inheritance tax.
“We made it clear to the Minister that this decision not only threatens the livelihoods of numerous farmers, especially upland farmers, commoners and tenants, but also undermines the ability of farm businesses to deliver environmental work. We also explained how it has crushed all trust in Defra.
“The withdrawal of SFI leaves many facing the dilemma of whether they can afford to continue implementing environmental work, ultimately putting both food production and sustainability targets at risk.”