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<p>The Government is backing British farmers with £2.4 billion of investment every
year. In May 2023 the Prime Minister and the Defra Secretary of State met with representatives
from across the whole UK supply chain, from farm to fork, for a Summit on how Government
and industry can work together to support a thriving UK food industry. Support for
farmers includes our Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. These schemes will
ensure our long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production:
healthy soil, water and biodiverse ecosystems. ELM schemes have been developed so
that there is an offer for all farm types, including for tenant farmers.</p><p> </p><p>ELM
includes the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This pays farmers for actions that
support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, while
protecting and improving the environment. It has been expanded and made more flexible
in response to farmers’ feedback, with 23 actions on offer under the new and improved
2023 scheme, including on soil health, moorland, hedgerows, integrated pest management,
farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input grassland. In recognition of the challenges
faced with inflation and rising input costs, the Government has confirmed farmers
will receive a payment in the first month of their Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023
(SFI) agreement to help with cashflow. The scheme will open for applications from
18 September. Before then farmers can contact the RPA to join the thousands of farm
businesses that have already expressed their interest in applying.</p><p> </p><p>ELM
also includes Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Landscape Recovery (LR). CS will pay
farmers and land managers to look after and improve the environment in specific habitats,
features and local areas. LR is for landowners and managers who want to take a more
large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their
land. LR projects will demonstrate how food production and environmental delivery
can go hand in hand.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also confirmed that farmers
producing sustainable British food under ELM schemes will be able to use them to help
meet public procurement standards, benefiting our British farmers and allowing the
public sector to benefit from more excellent British food. We are providing tailored
business advice to all farmers. We have cut red tape, brought in fair enforcement
regimes, and helped the sector access the seasonal labour it needs. We are looking
closely at the Shropshire review into labour shortages in the food chain that we commissioned
to see how we can go further.</p><p> </p><p>We are also reviewing supply chain fairness
in the sector: the Government announced in July that it plans to introduce regulations
this autumn to make sure supply contracts in the dairy sector are fair and transparent,
meaning farmers can challenge prices or raise concerns with contracts more easily.
This represents a key milestone in our commitment to promote fairness and transparency
across food supply chains to support farmers and build a stronger future for the industry,
and will be followed by reviews into the egg and horticulture sector supply chains
this Autumn to ensure farmers are paid a fair price. We will also identify opportunities
to remove unnecessary burdens for Small Abattoirs. We are also trying to unlock opportunities
for genetic technologies.</p><p> </p><p>Further information on how we are supporting
farmers can be found on our webpage: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeframedia.blog.gov.uk%2F2023%2F02%2F21%2Four-record-on-farming-30-actions-we-have-taken-to-support-our-farmers-and-growers%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C7d6c1c87754f4ebd85ee08dbb4618ab0%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638302103245853639%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=I8UjZenIiVB8e0RdknrzooGFU2glWz5kNYGQbYZJr5s%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank">Our record on farming: 30 actions we have taken to support our farmers
and growers</a>.</p>
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