Extra SFI cash for farmers, an expanded technology fund and the introduction of an annual Food Security Index were among the headline announcements from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the 2024 NFU Conference.
Speaking in Birmingham this week – the first time since 2008 that a sitting Prime Minister has spoken at the farmers’ union’s flagship event – Sunak began by referring to his first speech in the House of Commons nine years ago, in which he pledged to be a “champion of agriculture”, and thanked the nation’s farmers for their work at a time when the industry is going through “its biggest change in a generation”.
Sunak promised that every penny of the £2.4bn annual farming budget will be spent on the industry, and to support the sector in a number of new ways.
More grant funding
The government plans to open the largest-ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427m, including what Sunak described as an unprecedented package of funding for technology and productivity schemes.
Around £220m – up from the current £91m grant offer – will be injected into the future-focused technology and productivity schemes to ensure farmers can access new equipment, including kit which increases automation to reduce reliance on overseas workers. It will also fund cost-saving energy measures such as rooftop solar.
The funding pot will also increase support for processing, packing and retailing on farms, the government said.
In the spring, Sunak pledged to double the management payments for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, putting up to an extra £1,000 in farmers’ pockets. More than 11,000 farmers are already in the schemes, and it will be further extended in July, opening up to the Countryside Stewardship mid-tier.
Food Security Index
One of Sunak’s big reveals was the creation of an annual Food Security Index, to be launched at the next Farm to Fork Summit in spring, to capture and present the key data needed to monitor the country’s food security level. Those summits will become an annual event, the Prime Minister added.
Also in his speech, Sunak said the government will cut bureaucratic red tape around permitted development rights, so farmers can more easily develop buildings and diversify earnings.
In conclusion, Sunak stressed again that the Conservatives are in farmers’ corner. “You can trust us because I know how important my farmer neighbours are,” he said. “All of you truly are. You help support millions of jobs and billions to our economy and shape the landscape. All that you do means [British] food is some of the best and highest quality anywhere in the world. And that’s why I say to you all, just as I did in my very first speech in Parliament, that I’ve got your back.”