Farmers and rural businesses across the country have been helped by a strong performance from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) across all its services in 2022.
In December, the first month of the farm payment window, more payments than ever before have reached farmer's bank accounts. The RPA paid out around 107,000 eligible claims, totalling £1.0bn for farmers by 31 December, on top of the £679m issued for Basic Payment Scheme advances earlier in the summer of 2022.
These payments helped farmers deliver food security through sustainable food production alongside environmental actions to enhance and support nature.
This total represents 98.4% of eligible claims to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) (up from 98.3% in 2021), 73.6% of claims to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CS) revenue (up from 61.9%) and 76.5% of claims to the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ES) (up from 64.8%) in 2022.
In recognition of the importance of cashflow for farmers, as announced in May 2022, farmers claiming Direct Payments have received two separate payments for the 2022 scheme. This was the start of a permanent change to the BPS payment cycle, with payments now being made in two instalments each year until the end of the agricultural transition period in 2027.
In addition, since April 2022, over £90.8m has been paid out in CS Capital Grants, on average issued within 20 days, which support the establishment and maintenance of woodland and hedges, water quality and air quality.
In a further improvement for 2022, the RPA was also able to issue 94.9% of CS agreement offers by 31 December, with 98.2% of Mid-Tier agreement offers (up from 41.2%) and 65.9% (up from 54%) of Higher Tier agreement offers.
Rural Payments Agency Chief Executive Paul Caldwell said:
2022 was a challenging year for farmers, and we have focused on processing applications, claims and getting payments into bank accounts which I hope has helped farmers deal with the issues they have faced.
We want more farmers to come into environmental schemes and recognise the importance of being able to start on their agreements, so the improvements this year are important to be able to build on.
We know how important our work is to rural communities, so we'll continue to work hard to help where we can over the next 12 months.
With the Government committing to improving and enhancing Countryside Stewardship, the RPA continues to encourage applications for the scheme, with 30,000 farm businesses in England now participating in the scheme. The next round of applications for CS revenue agreements will be opened in spring and the RPA is introducing more measures to make the application process more straightforward.
The RPA has worked closely with Defra throughout 2022 as the Government presses ahead with its Environmental Land Management schemes. Following a successful pilot, the RPA opened the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme for applications in June 2022 in an incremental way. Around 1,570 agreements were already in place at the start of 2023 for the initial standards, with more standards to be added, and feedback from those farmers who have taken up opportunities in SFI has been encouraging.
The straightforward application process, a rolling application window so farmers can apply at a time that suits them, and the provision of quarterly payments for better cashflow have all been well received. All the information on the Sustainable Farming Incentive can be found at on gov.uk.
The RPA has delivered a number of other schemes, services, and improvements across 2022:
- Under the Farming Investment Fund, the RPA invited applications for three Farming Transformation Fund themes; Water Management, Improving Farm Productivity and Adding Value. A fourth theme, the Slurry Infrastructure Grant, opened in December and will run across 2023.
- The RPA has made £25.7m payments in 2022 under the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, which has provided investment towards specific items of equipment to improve productivity and efficiency for farming, horticultural and forestry businesses. The original £21m budget for this fund was increased to £48.5m following high demand for the scheme.
- The Agency delivered a Lump Sum Exit Scheme for farmers who wished to leave or retire from farming. Over 2,100 farmers submitted eligible applications and to date payments totalling £5.8m have been made to those who have evidenced leaving the sector.
- Applications for the 2023 round of the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund opened in November. The fund encourages collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst the farming community, and building on the successes of previous years, this year's scheme includes support for additional environmental priorities.
Throughout 2022 the RPA has introduced a more supportive, partnership-based approach to inspections, moving away from the penalty-based system under the European Union, to farmer-focused visits for schemes such as the SFI and CS. From 1 January 2023 all Stewardship agreements have been moved to domestic terms and conditions and farmers with these agreements will benefit from the new approach.
The Agency has also introduced an option for online applications for new County Parish Holding numbers, established a Research and Insight Network Group, comprised of over 750 farmers, who are sharing their experience to help make further improvements to the service on offer, supported efforts to deal with the outbreak of avian influenza through a dedicated phone line in the Customer Contact Centre and broadened their communications approach, such as through the RPA Podcast and the Rural Payments blog, to reach out to more farmers.
Building on successful events the previous year, the RPA hosted 14 regional roundtables across England with Members of Parliament and their constituents during 2022. Over 1,600 farmers have now attended these events which are aimed at supporting agricultural and rural communities as they make decisions on their future, during the agricultural transition period. The RPA also attended shows and events across the country alongside Defra colleagues, providing information about schemes and services, and taking onboard feedback when engaging with farmers.
