Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme 2023 on (a) UK food security and (b) associated agribusinesses.

As part of the design of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) we have made both qualitative and quantitative assessments of the impact actions will have on food production and as such food security. Long term food security and agribusiness viability relies on farming becoming more sustainable and SFI is designed to support farmers in this. Many SFI actions are undertaken alongside agricultural operations and do not require land be taken out of production. Some actions within SFI are likely to take small areas of often marginally productive land out of production, lowering overall output for the farm in the short term. In the longer term this is likely to be offset by long term improvements in soil health and pollinator abundance which will support increased yields. Some actions in SFI will also reduce the need for fertilisers or pesticides leading to lower inputs and higher productivity. We have further schemes within the farming and countryside programme including for example the Farming Resilience Fund, the Farming Investment Fund and the Farming Innovation Programme which will further help to improve farm productivity in line with the government commitment on food security set out in the food strategy. Innovation funding will help to support and build the agribusiness economy and new opportunities may arise from environmental land management as markets for environmental goods and services are expanded or created.