The closure of the SFI to new applicants is among the topics up for scrutiny
Food security minister Daniel Zeicher is making his first appearance before the Efra Select Committee to face MPs’ questions related to their inquiries on the future of farming, fairness in the food supply chain, and fisheries and the marine environment.
In the first section of the session on Tuesday 1 April, committee members were due to probe the government’s vision for the future of farming, posing questions on the early closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 to new applications, ongoing concerns in the sector, and Defra’s communication of, and consultation on, key policy changes to stakeholders.
Questions to the minister in the second part of the session will be focused on fairness in food supply chains. MPs will enquire into the steps Defra is taking to make the supply chain fairer, which is a key element of the government’s plans to support the farming sector.
MPs will also consider the scope of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) and the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA), and whether the two are adequately resourced to fulfil their functions.
In the final part of the evidence session, MPs will quiz the Defra minister on the outcome of the annual fisheries negotiations between the UK and its nearby coastal partners.
The other witnesses scheduled to appear were Defra’s Emily Miles, Janet Hughes, Colin Faulkner and Mike Dowell.
