A controversial decision to scrap a farming payment scheme has been criticised by a county MP.
The Government has announced that it will stop accepting new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme which pays farmers to adopt and maintain farming practices that help to produce food sustainably and protect the environment.
North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan labelled the decision as "weak" and said it has left farmers "in the lurch".
The Government has announced that it will stop accepting new applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme which pays farmers to adopt and maintain farming practices that help to produce food sustainably and protect the environment.
North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan labelled the decision as "weak" and said it has left farmers "in the lurch".
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you very much Madam Deputy Speaker. Farmers in North Shropshire are really keen
00:03to improve the environment and farm in a friendly way, but they're also running businesses
00:06and they need to plan. There are farmers in my constituency who are hoping to apply for
00:10grants to raise their water table in peat soil areas. Those grants haven't even opened,
00:15that's why they haven't applied and now the opportunity's gone. Can he tell us what
00:19he's going to do to enable farmers to plan and what the replacement scheme is going to
00:23look like?
00:25Well the Honourable Lady raises an important question. SFI is only one part of the set
00:30of schemes that the Department has to work with farmers on nature restoration and my
00:34colleague is just telling me there are £300 million available for peat restoration, so
00:37there are other schemes available.