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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce 10 year sustainable farming incentive agreements.

Our aim is for the Sustainable Farming incentive (SFI) to enable as many farmers as possible to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices that support farm productivity whilst protecting and enhancing the natural environment. These include actions that focus on improving management of soils and nutrients. The 3-year agreement term in SFI supports this aim, building on recommendations from farming organisations and tenant farmers (including feedback from the Rock Review). Longer term 5- or 10-year agreements are also available in Countryside Stewardship for specific actions, to manage, restore or create important habitats like grassland or in coastal areas.