‘Too Little To Late’ - CLA Responds To Defra’s Delayed Support For Farmers Affected By Flooding

Last week, the CLA (Country Land and Business Association) renewed calls for the government to open the Farming Recovery Fund, which allows affected farmers the ability to apply for grants of between £500 to £25,000 to cover recultivation costs.

On Tuesday, the government opened the Farming Recovery Fund to a limited number of affected areas – mostly in the South of England, and excluding Northern counties such as Lancashire, Cumbria, Northumberland, County Durham, Tees, with only Yorkshire currently ‘under review’ by Defra. (Other ‘under review’ counties include Berkshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Staffordshire, Norfolk and Derbyshire.)

The fund will initially be open in those local authority areas where the Flood Recovery Framework, which supports councils and communities following severe flooding, has been activated to help farms that have experienced the highest levels of flooding. These are Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

Under the scheme, eligible farmers can access grants of between £500 and £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was in before exceptional flooding due to Storm Henk.

Eligible farmers are being contacted directly by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) outlining the support available to them through the Farming Recovery Fund and how they can make a claim.

CLA Acting Director North, Henk Geertsema said:

“Farmers have been pushed to the limit by Storm Henk, and while the fund is welcome, it risks being too little too late. It is also a kick in the teeth for farmers up and down the country who are not deemed eligible for this funding support.

"After a three-month void in communications from Defra, farmers still have no clarity on what ‘recultivation’ encompasses, whether they can make claims retrospectively, and what criteria makes the grant available.

“Farmers are quickly losing patience, and unless government urgently issues more guidance and commits to full compensation, they’ll continue to shoulder the burden of Storm Henk alone.

“The continued wet weather will have a dire impact on both arable and livestock farmers’ ability to produce food, which in turn will lead to limited and costlier choices on supermarket shelves."