Union calls for agri-environment funding to be recycled into SFI to meet expected demand from 48,000 farmers
The Sustainable Farming Incentive will need a budget of around £1bn in 2027 if it is to meet expected demand from farmers and fulfil the government’s targets, the NFU has said.
With an estimated £960mn in agri-environment funding due to be freed up from expired or expiring schemes, the union has called for this to be reinvested into SFI’s 2027 budget.
This estimate includes farmers with SFI23, expanded SFI, Countryside Stewardship and Higher Level Stewardship agreements due to expire by and in 2027.
The call comes as farmers were left “high, dry and desperate” after window 2 of the 2026 budget was exhausted in under six hours when it opened on 22 September.
The government had allocated a total of £310mn to both application windows in SFI26, despite NFU’s initial estimate that £520mn was needed.
Strong appetite for the scheme is anticipated for 2027, with NFU analysis revealing that around 48,000 farmers could seek an SFI27 agreement.
Robyn Munt, NFU vice-president, said: “As existing agri-environment schemes come to an end and funding is freed up, Defra must honour its side of the partnership with farmers by reinvesting that money in SFI27 and ensuring its budget matches demand.”
The union said the scheme should open in early 2027, allowing agreements to begin from 1 April, with farmers whose existing agreements are expiring to be prioritised to prevent a break in environmental work.
Allocating funding on a pound per hectare basis would also give more farmers access to the scheme, provided payment rates remain financially viable and properly award farmers for the work involved, the union said.
Munt added that the scheme should “ensure the wider Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) are fully functioning” alongside the publication of a clear ELMs strategy.
Recent OECD figures have shown that the UK invests significantly less in agriculture than other economies, with support amounting to just 0.2 per cent of GDP between 2023 and 2025, around half the OECD average.
The OECD has also called for the “clear, multi-year funding” to help farmers plan how to use their land and invest.
