The National Audit Office has reviewed Defra's Farming and Countryside programme and has a number of criticisms to make.
The Farming and Countryside Programme aims to fundamentally
change England’s farms. The stakes are high for the environment, food
production and the viability of the sector. To achieve the Programme’s
objectives, many farmers need to transform the way they farm, and Defra’s
modelling shows the extent of productivity improvements that are needed for
farm businesses to maintain viability.
Take-up of schemes is rapidly increasing, but some of what
Defra is paying for now are actions that, for many farmers, do not result in
significant immediate change to farming practices. Instead, they are expected
to encourage farmers to do more for the environment in the long-term.
Defra expects the removal of direct payments to stimulate
most of the required productivity improvements. It says it has seen some
improvements already as farmers adapt to life without direct payments, but the
evidence is inconclusive on whether the scale of change needed will be
achieved.
Farmers need quality advice and support to adapt, but Defra
has not yet ensured that they can access what they need. Around half of
England’s farmers say they are not at all positive about their future in
farming.
The Programme will continue to change, but Defra has not yet
provided a long-term view of how it expects the Programme to develop, for
example, in terms of the balance of funding between SFI and more ambitious
schemes.
Defra’s iterative approach to Programme design makes it
difficult for farmers to plan their businesses to remain viable, to continue to
produce the food we need and to achieve the Programme’s environmental
objectives. Currently, gaps in the Programme’s data on environmental outcomes
is limiting Defra’s ability to fully understand the impact on the environment,
or whether it is on track to achieve value for money.
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