English FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today Defra launched an online consultation on their proposed Delinking and Lump Sum exit schemes. These schemes will replace Direct Payments and are intended by Defra to be used by farmers to either invest in productivity, expand their farm business or retire from farming.
The Delinking scheme will ‘delink’ Direct Payments from the land between now and 2027, regardless of whether the recipient decides to continue farming or not. The Lump Sum payment is a one-off exit scheme that would be offered in place of continued receipt of Direct Payments.
In their 2020 policy document ‘Farming for the future’, Defra stated that: ‘by making it easier for those farmers who wish to retire to do so, delinking should free up land for new entrants.’
These schemes should then result in the long overdue restructuring of the farming sector. They should, as suggested, represent a great opportunity to increase access to land for new entrants, particularly those from non farming backgrounds who currently face a lack of opportunities that make it hard for them to enter into the sector.
The Landworkers’ Alliance, a union of more than 1500 small and medium-scale farmers and landworkers across the UK, agrees that these schemes could be of huge benefit in both supporting retiring farmers and the future of our farming landscape, but is gravely concerned by the schemes’ proposed insufficiency in engaging retiring farmers, passing land to new entrants and setting out of environmental, social and economic conditions for payment.
There is no data on UK farm exit or retirement schemes, however based on similar schemes in Ireland and Australia, they are not popular with farmers due to their insufficiency in supporting farmers to leave the sector and any land that was made available through these schemes, was simply amalgamated into already existing large holdings.
In light of this, the Landworkers’ Alliance proposes that Defra:
- Integrates a clear set of criteria with a robust mechanism into the schemes’ to ensure that any land made newly available under Delinking or Lump Sum is prioritised for new entrants.
- Builds conditions into both schemes’ to ensure that farmland is not environmentally degraded or damaged and is actively revived.
- Links any land made newly available through the schemes’ to the government’s New Entrant Support Scheme and have clear channels of support attached. These should cover access to finance, markets, training and mentorship, as well as the opportunity to purchase or co-use farm machinery in land transference.
Georgie Styles, the New Entrants Policy and Campaigns Officer at the Landworkers’ Alliance states, “We are at a time of great need in the diversification, reformation and revitalisation of our land use and farming systems. But these schemes currently offer no such thing, with little incentive for retiring farmers, zero environmental land protection and by playing into the hands of existing large landowners.”
She continues, “It is ridiculous that Defra are suggesting these schemes will offer opportunities to new entrants with no condition to prioritise new entrants in gaining access to any land that is made available. Access to land, finance and relevant training in ecologically-based farming and land management techniques are three of the biggest barriers facing new entrants today – how can new entrants be expected to compete on the open market for land? This is a disgrace and frankly criminal, given the urgency of the many crises’ we face.”
She suggests that “robust conditions, mechanisms and channels of support must be put in place to ensure the breaking down of barriers to entering the farming sector and to stop the further consolidation of land by wealthy landowners who have the capital and resources to outcompete new entrants and land-based social enterprise.”
However it is not just about access to land, Styles continues; “The skills and knowledge of these retiring farmers is a valuable resource for those starting out and so it would be a great loss to the British farming sector to see this knowledge disappear – we must encourage and support intergenerational knowledge transference and skill sharing.”
Moreover, the lack of environmental protection with regards to these schemes opens the door to a whole swath of land mismanagement. Oli Rodker, Director at the Ecological Land Cooperative says “The government has committed to reaching net zero and has begun plans for a Green Recovery, but one of the central points in achieving this – which is too often missed – is a focus on land management. These payment schemes must encourage farmers to invest in agroecological land practices and ensure that any land passed on is environmentally protected and enhanced.”
ENDS
For further information and media enquiries please contact Georgie Styles, georgie.styles@staging.landworkersalliance.org.uk
