£57.5m paid out to flood-affected farmers
© GNP Flood-hit farmers in England have been paid out £57.5m in funding so far through the government’s Farming Recovery Fund.
The fund has made more than 12,700 one-off payments to eligible farm businesses which were affected by flooding between October and March last year.
Payment rates have varied between £2,895-£25,000 for each farm business, and roughly 95% of those eligible have now received payments.
See also: Welsh farms hit hard by Storm Bert
Data was collected by the Met Office and the Environment Agency to establish which businesses had been most affected by flooding from rivers and excessive rainfall.
Eligible farm businesses should then have been contacted directly by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to inform them, with the amount paid varying depending on the amount of land affected.
Payment bands
- 1ha-25ha: £2,895
- 25ha-50ha: £4,875
- 50ha-75ha: £8,125
- 75ha-100ha: £11,375
- 100ha-125ha: £14,625
- 125ha-150ha: £17,875
- 150ha-175ha: £21,125
- More than 175ha: £25,000
Defra farming minister Daniel Zeichner said: “In just two weeks we have paid over £57m to farms affected by devastating flooding – £10m more than the previous government.”
A further £50m is due to be distributed between internal drainage boards to help manage future water levels.