Farmers Demand Basic Income Amid Funding Uncertainty

A coalition of farmers, supported by Green Party and Labour MPs, has addressed an open letter to Daniel Zeichner, the UK's Food Security Minister, urging the government to lift the cap on Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications and to consider introducing a basic income for agricultural workers.

The correspondence, featured in The Times, underscores the financial instability confronting farmers, farmworkers, and food producers, many of whom had integrated anticipated SFI payments into their financial plans.

The campaign group Basic Income for Farmers (BI4Farmers) contends that restricting SFI applications erodes confidence in post-Brexit subsidy programmes, particularly affecting small-scale and agroecological farmers who were beginning to receive essential financial assistance. They advocate for an immediate increase in the SFI budget to broaden access, the reopening of applications to avert further economic insecurity, and the exploration of a basic income for all agricultural workers to ensure enduring stability in food production.

BI4Farmers has sought a meeting with Minister Zeichner to discuss potential solutions, including the feasibility of implementing a basic income scheme within a fairer and more sustainable agricultural support framework. Research conducted by BI4Farmers and the Autonomy Institute highlights the pressing need for guaranteed financial support in farming, noting that current subsidies fail to provide the stability necessary for a resilient and sustainable food system. They argue that a basic income would prevent those who feed the nation from being left in economic uncertainty due to abrupt policy changes.

Joanna Poulton, campaign lead at BI4Farmers, stated: "Farmers were promised that post-Brexit subsidy schemes would provide financial security. Instead, we've seen a pattern of uncertainty and exclusion. The government must act now to restore trust and ensure a just and sustainable future for UK farming through a basic income scheme."

Jonathan Smith, an organic farmer from the Isles of Scilly, shared his experience: "Farmers need a basic income to survive. In my 22 years of experience it is really hard to make a profit with vegetables. Historically there has been very little support from the state and many of us farmers have to have two or more other jobs just to provide enough income for ourselves and our families. We were finally going to get some support from the SFI payments and now that has been pulled. It shouldn't be that hard, we should have a basic income so we can afford to live."

This appeal follows previous calls from British farmers for a universal basic income to address financial hardships stemming from post-Brexit agricultural subsidy reforms. Delays and low participation rates in new sustainable farming schemes have led to significant underspending of the £2.4bn farming budget, leaving many without support.

At least 100 farmers have joined the BI4Farmers campaign, advocating for a universal basic income to stabilise their incomes. Critics argue that new nature payments inadequately replace former EU subsidies, while supporters believe that a basic income would provide financial security, enabling farmers to adopt sustainable practices without financial strain. ​

Source: The Guardian