Sustainable Farming Incentive excludes small growers

Community Supported Agriculture UK (CSA UK) has voiced its disappointment that the Government’s 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive excludes direct funding for farmers and growers operating on fewer than three hectares of land.

For small farms, already struggling in a hostile business environment, this announcement is a death knell when it could have been the start of a real push for food resilience in communities across the UK, says CSA UK.

Suzy Russell, CSA Network co-ordinator, said: “The application of the three-hectare limit is a huge blow to hundreds of our farmers and growers who are providing climate-friendly agroecological food, health and employment to communities across England.” 

Small farms and horticulture enterprises like community supported agriculture schemes are the lifeblood of the Government’s drive towards thriving rural communities, innovation in agriculture, and improvements in sustainability and resilience. They allow new entrants into farming, trial new methods, increase resilience and decrease reliance on chemical inputs.

“Our CSAs, with their short supply chains, offer a brilliant response to the desperate and well-reported need to address food supply issues and potential food shortages.” Suzy added.

“The Government only recently committed to a horticultural growth strategy. There is a need for an immediate market garden support scheme, in time to stop hundreds of small farms and decades of horticultural knowledge disappearing just when it’s most needed.”

Learn more about the work of CSA UK here.