Small Farms Still Face Big Barriers: What Our 5Ha Survey Revealed

Date Published: 17th July 2025

Earlier this year, we surveyed small-scale growers across England to understand how the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is working for farms under 5 hectares, following the welcome removal of the minimum area threshold in July 2024.

The survey, run by the UK Fruit & Vegetable Coalition (including CSA Network UK, Landworkers Alliance, Organic Growers Alliance, Soil Association, and Sustain), gathered 71 responses from diverse farms, many of them CSAs or market gardens producing vegetables, herbs, fruit, and more.

While most respondents welcomed the policy change, only a third had applied for any subsidy and just 8 had applied for SFI. The biggest barrier? A complex and confusing application process, especially around mapping diverse, rotational cropping systems. Many growers felt that without tailored advice, the system remained inaccessible.

Worryingly, respondents said the scheme doesn’t recognise or reward farms already operating sustainably. SFI payments are largely geared towards those starting to adopt greener practices, rather than those already growing ecologically on small plots. Payments also remain too low per hectare to be meaningful for many.

Crucially, farms highlighted a lack of support for the wider public and community benefits they offer like school visits, volunteering, and biodiversity projects, which currently fall outside SFI scope.

Despite this, the survey revealed strong appetite for future participation – if improvements are made. These include simpler applications, better support, payments for public engagement and fairer rewards for intensive, small-scale horticulture.

There’s a real opportunity to make farm support schemes work for the growers already leading the way in sustainable food. We’ll keep pushing to ensure these farms are no longer overlooked.

Read our full summary of the UK Fruit and Vegetable Coalition 5ha payment survey results.