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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the incentives in the Sustainable Farming Incentive for cider apple orchards.

The expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer published in May 2024 includes capital grants to plant cider apple trees as part of an Agro-forestry system, and ongoing payments for actions which could be used in or around cider orchards such as flower rich grass margins blocks or strips, Integrated Pest Management plans, or managing hedgerows. Looking ahead, we will optimise Environmental Land Management schemes including SFI in an orderly way, over time, ensuring they produce the right outcomes for all farmers, for food security and for nature’s recovery in a just and equitable way.