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Piloting the Sustainable Farming Incentive: monitoring
The guidance on this page is for SFI pilot participants only. Please visit GOV.UK for the official Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme guidance.
Guidance for participants taking part in the pilot of the Sustainable Farming Incentive. This covers monitoring, site visits, the annual agreement and breaches.
This guidance sets out what you need to do to deliver your agreement and explains how we’ll monitor the delivery of your agreement in the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot. It covers:
- what you must do
- reviewing your progress: monitoring and site visits
- reporting change of circumstances
- what happens if you have not delivered your agreement
The Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot uses a new model for compliance and monitoring agreements. It focuses on outcomes and improvement instead of penalties, while still protecting public money.
What you must do
Meet the eligibility criteria
Continue to meet eligibility criteria for the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot and the standards selected, for the duration of your agreement.
Deliver the standards
You must deliver the standards selected against the area or length of the land, water body or hedgerow included in your agreement. You must do all the actions within the standards, where relevant, at your selected ambition level.
In some standards there are extra actions that you need to complete if you have certain features on your farm. You will receive extra payment for doing these actions.
Each standard sets out:
- the mandatory actions - you must do these
- the aims of these actions, which describe what the outcome of the actions should look like
- any required documents you must have to show you’re meeting the mandatory actions in the standards
Documents showing you’re meeting the standards
You must keep certain documents to show you’re meeting the mandatory actions in the standards. These documents are described in the relevant actions for each standard.
You don’t need to send these to us unless we ask you to, for example as part of our checks on a random sample of agreements. We may also check these during a site visit.
Supporting evidence showing how you’re meeting the standards
There may be other supporting evidence that it’s helpful for you to keep. This supporting evidence is not mandatory, but it could include photographs and other documentation to help you show:
- how you’ve delivered the actions in the standards
- other progress that’s not evident at a site visit or from remote monitoring, such as records of actions that are not always clearly visible on the ground, or evidence of actions being undertaken where there’s a risk they might fail
Take part in learning activities
The pilot participation payment pays you for the time you spend on the learning activities of the pilot scheme. It’s based on typical additional costs and should cover time you could have spent on other farm business activities.
Find out more about learning activities and participation payments.
Submit an annual declaration
You must submit an annual declaration each year for the duration of your pilot agreement. This confirms progress under your agreement up to that point.
You’ll complete and submit your annual declaration online in the Rural Payments service. We’ll remind you when your annual declaration is due and provide more information to help you complete it.
You cannot amend your annual declaration after you submit it. Contact the RPA if you’ve made a mistake.
When your annual declaration is due
Your first annual declaration is due 10 months after your agreement starts. Your next annual declaration will be 12 months after that, with the final annual declaration due towards the end of your agreement term. Check when your annual declaration is due.
If you do not submit your annual declaration on time
If you do not submit your annual declaration when it’s due, we’ll contact you and offer additional support and guidance.
If you do not submit your annual declaration after this, your payments may be withheld or recovered, or your agreement may be ended.
If you declare that you cannot fulfil your agreement
We’ll contact you to discuss what has happened. Where possible, we’ll work with you to fix any issues.
Reviewing your progress: monitoring and site visits
We’ll be reviewing delivery of your agreement through a combination of:
- physical and virtual site visits
- remote monitoring
- desk-based administrative checks
Site visits
Site visits have previously been referred to as inspections. Each year, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will carry out site visits on a sample of agreements.
We’ll carry out site visits to:
- get feedback and other information to help us learn from the pilot
- monitor delivery of your agreement against the terms and conditions
Read the legislation for a full list of reasons for site visits.
How site visits are chosen
For the first phase of the pilot, agreement holders will be selected randomly. As we learn more and gather data on delivery of agreements we may gradually move to a more risk-based, targeted approach.
How a site visit is arranged
We’ll aim to agree a suitable time and date with you in advance and let you know what to expect during the visit.
If that’s not possible, we’ll write to you by post or email explaining the purpose, date and time of the visit at least 48 hours in advance.
What you can expect from a site visit
A member of the RPA team responsible for agreement monitoring will visit your farm. We’d expect in the overwhelming majority of cases that this would involve discussions of how outcomes have been achieved or actions undertaken, any particular issues or challenges encountered and how they were addressed.
Where necessary to guide improvements, the RPA staff member on site will be able to conduct a review of all aspects of your agreement. This may include:
- carrying out any inquiries, checks, measures and tests
- accessing and copying any relevant evidence or records
- taking photos or making another digital record of the land or premises
- taking samples or other evidence
Read the legislation for the exact details of what someone visiting (or ‘authorised person’) can do.
You’ll also have a chance to feed your experiences into pilot learning. For example:
- how you found the site visit process
- whether the evidence requirements were reasonable
- whether you felt supported
- what improvements could be made
Physical site visits
It’s part of the terms and conditions of your agreement to allow access and assist as requested with any site visit.
Virtual site visits by video call
Virtual site visits are carried out via a live video link that allows the agreement holder and RPA staff member carrying out the visit to see and hear each other.
Before a virtual visit can take place, you’ll need to have access to and agree to the use of live video.
We’ll use the pilot scheme to find the best software, but we’ll start with Microsoft Teams. This has been used in other schemes and worked well.
We know that these virtual visits may be difficult in areas with poor internet connections. In these cases, we’ll work with you to make other arrangements, for example visiting in person.
What will happen on a video call
We want to learn how virtual site visits can best operate and we’ll continue to test our process.
We’ll talk with you and, where possible, view land or assets covered in the agreement, via the live video call.
You’ll be able to discuss what is and is not working well. You can share documents, such as photographs and land mapping data.
The virtual site visit may be followed up with an in-person site visit but we’ll discuss with you what we want to explore further, so that the follow-up is shorter and uses less of your time.
On the video call, you’ll be asked for permission to record the conversation.
Remote monitoring
Remote monitoring is a way to monitor land use that we’ll be testing in the pilot.
This uses satellite imagery to monitor things like land cover, vegetation condition and soil erosion risk at a national level.
Remote monitoring aims to:
- reduce the number of physical site visits
- make sure our standards are delivering environmental benefits
- automatically identify anomalies to offer more targeted support and guidance
It means using:
- aerial photography
- satellite imagery
- imagery captured remotely from an airborne vehicle, like an aeroplane, helicopter or remotely piloted aircraft system
We’ll use remote monitoring to:
- check on progress in meeting the aims of your agreement
- test the value of remote monitoring
- learn about how well the pilot is working
We’d also like to use the pilot to test the use of developing and innovative technology. For example, it may be possible to use a smartphone app to help you with successfully delivering your agreement and monitoring progress.
The monitoring aims for this pilot
We want to use the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot to learn:
- what is the most appropriate and relevant evidence for each of the standards
- what works best for you in practice
In this pilot, we are asking for as little evidence as possible to be kept. We want any evidence you keep to support discussions on your delivery. Some of this may already be collected as part of your farm records.
You must keep all invoices, receipts, accounts and other documentation relevant to expenditure that relates to the agreement for at least 7 years from the end of the agreement.
We might ask to see any supporting evidence you keep:
- during a physical site visit or a remote video visit
- as part of our administrative checks
- when following up your annual declaration
We’ll take into account any evidence you’ve kept if it’s not clear that you’ve met a standard.
This will let us work out:
- if you have not met the standard for reasons outside of your control
- what may have gone wrong in any actions you carried out
Reporting change of circumstances
You must tell us as soon as reasonably possible if there’s a change in your circumstances that affects your eligibility for the pilot, the amount of money you should get or your ability to fulfil your agreement. It will be a breach of your agreement if you do not do this.
We’ll look at changes on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the change, we could:
- amend your agreement, removing or replacing some conditions
- adjust your selection of standards and ambition levels
- end your agreement
- recalculate payments or recover money we’ve already paid
Check the legislation for more details on how we can manage a change of circumstances.
What happens if you have not delivered your agreement
As this is a pilot, we’ll work with you to understand where and why you cannot meet the obligations of your agreement. We’ll do what we can to support you in getting back on track.
Breach of agreement
Not fulfilling any of the terms and conditions during the lifetime of the agreement would be a breach.
Breach of regulations
We’re using the pilot as an opportunity to try a new approach to agreement monitoring, in the context of the pilot version of the scheme.
Our aim is not to penalise you for making honest mistakes. They help reveal where improvements need to be made. This is what the pilot is for.
The pilot is a space to learn and improve and we want participants to share learning and experience without fear of repercussions.
Nonetheless, we need to run the pilot as a proper scheme and guard against misuse of public money and offences such as fraud.
You’ll breach the regulations if you:
- did not report, as soon as reasonably possible, a change of circumstances which affects your ability to meet your agreement
- give false or misleading information, intentionally or not
- do not provide information or evidence when it’s asked for, in the way it’s asked for
- prevent a virtual or physical site visit from being carried out
- refuse to assist an authorised person in the course of a site visit
Check the regulations for what counts as a breach.
What happens if there is a breach
We’ll write to tell you if we find a breach. You’ll have the opportunity to respond if you feel that our findings are wrong.
Where we confirm a breach, we’ll work out the most appropriate action we need to take, in the context of the pilot and understanding that a key objective is to learn from you.
There are no set actions for particular breaches. Instead, we’ll have a set of criteria so that we can assess all the circumstances of a breach in a fair and consistent manner, on a case-by-case basis.
The factors we’ll consider include:
- to what extent the breach can be rectified
- the circumstances, nature and consequences surrounding the breach
- any failure to cooperate with site visits, remote monitoring, or further investigations
- any steps taken to report a change in circumstances
- whether it’s an isolated or repeat occurrence
- whether it was intentional
- whether it was because of reckless or negligent action
Read the legislation for details of what we’ll consider when assessing a breach.
If there’s a breach of your agreement or the regulations, we may:
- support your improvement and ask you to rectify the breach
- issue a letter explaining what we’ve assessed as a breach and what you have to do
- amend your agreement
In more serious circumstances, we may:
- reduce the payments you get, or withhold part of them
- reduce or withhold money from other schemes
- recover money we’ve already paid
In the most extreme cases, we may:
- end your agreement
- stop you from receiving financial assistance (other than BPS) under any other scheme for up to 2 years
Read the legislation for the details of what we could do if there’s a breach.
More than one action may be taken in any particular case.
In exceptional circumstances where there’s reasonable suspicion of a serious breach or fraud, then we may access the land without notice, using powers of entry.
In these circumstances, for example as part of a fraud investigation, we may access any computer that’s been used in connection with the evidence or these records.
Good reasons for a breach
This has previously been known as ‘force majeure’.
If you cannot meet the terms of your agreement for a good reason, you must let us know.
You (or any person authorised to act on your behalf) must write to tell us within 8 weeks from the date on which you or they are in a position to do so.
You’ll need to provide written evidence to show:
- what has happened
- how it meant you were unable to meet your agreement terms and conditions
These examples may be considered good reasons for a breach:
- a severe natural disaster, including flooding and droughts
- the accidental destruction of capital items connected to your agreement
- criminal damage
- supply chain issues
- a disease affecting part or all of your crops, trees or livestock
- serious illness
If we find evidence of possible fraud
All cases of suspected fraud will be investigated.
If you’re worried whether an approach you might wish to take to deliver the aims of a standard could be considered fraudulent, please discuss it with the RPA.
Rural Payments Agency
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG
Feedback on agreement monitoring
As with all aspects of the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, Defra wants to learn from your experiences. This will help us make improvements.
During the pilot, Defra will run learning activities including workshops and surveys to allow participants to give feedback on agreement monitoring. For example, this will explore:
- how helpful and clear you find the guidance
- your experience of delivering your agreement and our agreement monitoring approach
- your views on the approach and ideas about how it could be improved
This is an initial pilot version of the approach, which includes new ideas. We’ll work with you over the course of the pilot to test and improve it, and understand how this fits with other monitoring that regularly takes place on your farm.
