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<p>In light of recently rising input costs and price volatility around certain agricultural
commodities such as nitrogen fertiliser, the Government is planning to change the
way we make payments under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2022. Eligible farmers
will now receive their payment in two instalments - half from the end of July and
the rest from December 2022. This will be a permanent change to Direct Payments that
will remain for the rest of the agricultural transition. By doing this, the Government
intends to inject cash into farm businesses, helping them to make business decisions
sooner, with more confidence.</p><p> </p><p>This builds on the increase in revenue
payment rates for the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme to reflect the change in
costs since 2013, which Defra announced in January 2022. The majority of payment rates
increased, on average by around 30%, although rate changes vary from option to option.
These changes affected around 30,000 agreements.</p><p> </p><p>In March 2022, Defra
began rolling out the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to recipients of the BPS.
SFI will help with the costs of sowing nitrogen fixing plants and green manures in
crops to substitute some fertiliser requirements for the coming season, as well as
reducing the dependence on manufactured fertilisers which are impacted by the price
of gas. Rising fertiliser prices highlight that we need to find alternatives and move
towards more organic-based fertiliser products. SFI is designed to help farmers move
to these new sustainable farming methods gradually - which will improve environmental
conditions of the land, while building the long-term resilience of our food security
and production.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State recently announced a range of
measures in support of the current situation, such as delaying changes to the use
of urea fertiliser to help farmers manage their costs and improving statutory guidance
for use of slurry. Defra has also created the Fertiliser Taskforce - where Government
and industry are working together to help improve market confidence and provide farmers
with the information they need to make business decisions on fertiliser use.</p><p>
</p><p>Towards the end of this year, farmers will be able to apply for slurry storage
grants, helping them to meet the Farming Rules for Water and reducing their dependence
on artificial fertilisers. This grant will contribute towards the costs of covered
slurry store construction projects, helping farmers to get six months storage capacity.</p><p>
</p><p>Defra is supporting investment in technology and research to further improve
productivity. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund has offered grants of up to
£48m to over 4,000 applicants - enabling farmers to invest in equipment, technology
and infrastructure. We have also announced a new Adding Value theme - a £30 million
fund helping farmers and growers to process, diversify and add-value to their products.
Furthermore, we have announced new Research Starter Projects - open to individual
farming, growing or forestry businesses in England to develop feasibility studies
to accelerate research and development.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to
monitor the wider context of global supplies that can impact farm income and productivity,
as well as take-up of our agri-environment and other schemes. Defra will use the findings
to inform our plans throughout the agricultural transition.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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