Small farms excluded from vital farm payment scheme
Date Published: 25th February 2026
Community Supported Agriculture UK (CSA UK) is extremely disappointed that the Government’s 2026 Sustainable Farm Initiative excludes farmers and growers operating on fewer than three hectares of land.
Suzy Russell, CSA Network co-ordinator, said: “The application of the three hectare limit is a huge blow to hundreds of our farmers and growers who are providing climate-friendly agroecological food, health and employment to communities across England.”
For small CSA farms, already struggling in a hostile business environment, this announcement could be a death knell when there is so much need for food resilience in communities across the UK.
However, there is a hope on the horizon. Under the banner of the UK Fruit and Vegetable Coalition, the CSA Network, together with other organisations representing organic and agroecological horticulture, have developed and presented an idea for a Market Garden Support Fund which may be gaining some traction with DEFRA.
Small farms and horticulture enterprises like community supported agriculture schemes are the lifeblood of the Government’s drive towards thriving rural communities, innovation in agriculture, and improvements in sustainability and resilience. They allow new entrants into farming, trial new methods, increase resilience and decrease reliance on chemical inputs.
“Our CSAs, with their short supply chains, offer a brilliant response to the desperate and well-reported need to address food supply issues and potential food shortages.” Suzy added.
This is the fourth policy change in 18 months for small farms. The five hectare limit was dropped in July 2024, too late for them to access SFI that year. In 2025 the scheme was suddenly closed when many of our farmers and growers were still preparing their applications. We hope that, despite their exclusion from SFI 2026, DEFRA find another way to provide support to these farms and growers who may prove vital for our resilience going forward. During COVID we saw just how important and resilient a part fo the UKs food system again.
We hope that they are properly supported now or they may not be there at all next time we need them.
There doesn’t seem to be a reasonable argument for setting the boundary at three hectares, and, whilst we understand the need to keep people with large gardens or others who are not actually farming out of the scheme, there are plenty of what of doing this, for example by including only those who can evidence 1000+ hours per year of payment for their farmers or growers.
The Government only recently committed to a horticultural growth strategy. There is a need for an immediate market garden support scheme, in time to stop hundreds of small farms and decades of horticultural knowledge disappearing just when it’s most needed.
As one of our brilliant CSAs, please spread the word, let people know you need support and ask your members to let their political representatives know just how vital you are.
Contact: Suzy Russell coordinator@communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk / 07760141822