Rural Affairs and Islands Committee 26 November 2025
From day 1, we have always said that we will try to do this with the industry at a pace that suits it and that will allow it and those who are farming on the ground to come with us. You will be well aware that the NFU has already written to the committee to say that increasing the EFA level to 7 per cent would be going too fast, but others are telling us that we are going too slowly. We are trying to have deep and meaningful conversations about what we are trying to achieve. Everyone knows what we are trying to achieve and what we would like to deliver: our vision is for sustainable, regenerative agriculture that allows farmers to continue to produce food and rural communities to thrive, while, at the same time, enhancing nature, protecting our biodiversity and reducing our emissions. Everyone has that vision in their heads. However, getting there with everyone on board is difficult, because there will always be pushback.
I ask the committee to clear the SSI that we are discussing today on the basis that it proposes increasing the requirement so that EFAs will cover 5 per cent of land for more people in 2026 and moving that to 7 per cent in 2027, so that we bring more people into the scheme. The committee will be aware that some people are saying, “Hold on—that’s too much and too fast,” but for others it is not going fast enough.
It will take time to deliver those changes at a pace that allows the farming community, which we are asking so much of, to keep up. I am not trying to dodge the question; we just need to ensure that the industry comes with us.