Rural Payments Agency
Were using a new, supportive and pragmatic approach to checking youre complying with your Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement.
If you cannot comply with your SFI agreement and we think its an issue that can be resolved, well offer you advice and guidance to help you fix whats gone wrong, wherever possible.
Weve tried to minimise prescription in the SFI actions. You must do whats required in the SFI actions, but its up to you how you complete them as long as you do it in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve the actions aim. This is so you can make the actions work for your farm.
What we may check
During your 3-year SFI agreement, we may check that:
- youre complying with your SFI agreements terms and conditions
- youve done whats required in each SFI action youve chosen in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim
How we may check youre complying with your agreement
Well use a range of methods to check youre complying with your SFI agreement, including:
- administrative checks
- carrying out site visits (physical or by video call)
- using remote monitoring technology, such as aerial photography and satellite imagery
- checking the evidence that we ask you to supply, such as a soil management plan or soil organic matter test results
- reviewing the annual declaration that you submit to confirm youre complying with your SFI agreement
These are explained in more detail below.
Administrative checks
Well carry out administrative checks to make sure that you and your land meet the eligibility requirements for the 3-year duration of your SFI agreement. This includes the nature and quality of any supporting evidence, such as receipts and farm records.
Site visits
If your farm is selected for a site visit, well try to arrange a suitable date and time with you in advance and let you know what to expect during the visit.
If its not possible to arrange a suitable date and time, well write to you by post or email explaining the purpose, date and time of the visit. This will be at least 48 hours before the site visit.
Read the guidance on what to expect from a site visit to check youre complying with your SFI agreement.
Remote monitoring
Remote monitoring uses aerial photography and satellite imagery to monitor thinks like land cover, vegetation condition and soil erosion risk. It aims to:
- reduce the need for physical site visits
- make sure the SFI actions are delivering environmental benefits
- automatically identify potential issues so we can give targeted support and guidance
Evidence you need to keep
You must supply evidence if we ask for it.
The evidence you should keep is explained in:
- the details of each SFI action (described under what evidence to keep for each action in the details of the SFI actions page)
- the SFI scheme rules (contained in the Eligible land for an agreement page and the How your SFI agreement works page)
Annual declaration
You must submit an annual declaration for each year of your SFI agreement. Read about submitting an annual declaration in the Getting paid for your SFI agreement page to find out more.
What happens if you find you cannot comply with your agreement
If you find you cannot do whats required under your SFI agreement, well try to be pragmatic and start by helping you to fix whats gone wrong.
Something may happen for reasons within or outside your control (a change of circumstances) that means you cannot:
- comply with your SFI agreements terms and conditions
- complete whats required in the SFI actions youve chosen in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve each actions aim
If this is the case, you must tell us about this change of circumstances, in writing, as soon as reasonably practicable, and preferably within 8 weeks of being able to do so, if it affects:
- your eligibility
- the amount of money you should get
- your ability to complete the SFI actions that are in your SFI agreement
- your ability to comply with your SFI agreements terms and conditions
It will be a breach of your SFI agreement if you do not tell us about a change of circumstances when youre required to.
How to tell us about a change of circumstances
You must tell us about a change of circumstances in writing. You can do this by post, email or use the SFI query form. Find out how to contact the RPA about SFI.
When you write to us, you should include:
- your Single Business Identifier (SBI)
- your SFI agreement reference number, which you can find on your agreement document
- as many details as possible about the change of circumstances, including specific details about the SFI actions youre having issues with
What happens when you tell us about a change of circumstances
Well look at each change of circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Depending on whats happened, we may decide to:
- amend your agreement, for example, to remove land
- end your agreement early, before the end of its 3-year term
- adjust your payments
- ask you to repay money already paid to you
Well tell you what our decision is. If you do not agree with it, you can use our complaints procedure to ask us to reconsider it. You must do this within 60 calendar days of the date youre notified of our decision.
How you could breach your agreement
You could breach your SFI agreement if you do not comply with the mandatory scheme requirements for the duration of your 3-year SFI agreement.
This includes if you:
- do not complete whats required in the SFI actions
- do not report a change of circumstances which affects your ability to comply with your agreement, in writing, as soon as reasonably practicable, and preferably within 8 weeks of being able to do so
- give false or misleading information
- do not provide information or evidence we ask for
- prevent a site visit from being carried out
- refuse to assist an authorised person during a site visit
What happens if theres been a suspected breach
When were checking youre complying with your SFI agreement, we may find a suspected breach.
If this happens, well investigate the suspected breach. Unlike previous schemes, we will not usually withhold your payments whilst we carry out