The UK will extend its pilot ‘payment by results’ scheme to pay farmers based on the environmental outcomes they achieve over the next two years.
The payment by results scheme will be the first agricultural/environmental scheme directly funded by the UK, and will receive some £540,000 in funding from the budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The purpose of the scheme is to pay farmers based on the environmental results they achieve based on a number of factors, and focuses on the specific environmental needs of particular areas. The two participating areas are Wensleydale and Norfolk and Suffolk; farmers in the former area are being incentivised to manage species-rich meadows, while those in the latter will benefit from planting nectar plots for bees and other pollinating insects.
How will the payment by results scheme support the UK’s wider agricultural policy?
The government held a public consultation on the future of the country’s farming policy following Brexit and a potential withdrawal from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, and outlined a plan to pay farmers based on the public goods they provide, although a model for this type of support payment will be prepared following further consultation, to ensure that the needs of a profitable farming business are managed against the need to manage land in an environmentally sound way.
Secretary of State for Defra, Michael Gove, said that the new policy would also prioritise the needs of farmers in a way that EU policy had not. He commented: “The payment by results pilot marks a shift in how we think about rewarding farmers for their work. This approach signals how we see the future of farm payments, where farmers deliver public goods for the environment which we all enjoy.”
Under the initial plan, the scheme was due to draw to a close at the end of the year, but the additional funding will allow it to continue for an additional two years. Gove added: “I am delighted to extend this scheme and look forward to seeing further evidence of its success as we plan for our future outside the EU.”
