Government relaunches green payment scheme for farmers after sudden closures
BBC World
February 24, 2026
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The UK government has relaunched its Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, which provides funding for farmers who undertake environmental land management practices in England. The scheme was reintroduced after being abruptly closed in March 2025, causing significant concern among farming communities. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds announced the new SFI during the National Farmers' Union (NFU) conference, emphasizing its dual focus on enhancing environmental benefits and supporting food production.
The updated SFI will now include 71 environmental actions, down from the previous 102, with individual farm agreements capped at £100,000. Reynolds highlighted that the new scheme aims to allocate funding more fairly, addressing criticism that one-quarter of the budget was being used by just 4% of farms. Smaller and tenant farmers will have priority access to the scheme in June, while larger
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Originally published on BBC World on 2/24/2026