CIPM4: No use of insecticide on arable crops and permanent crops (updated for SFI26)
What you must do to get paid for this SFI26 action and advice on how to do it.
This is a Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 (SFI26) action. Read the SFI26 scheme information to understand what you’re required to do under an SFI26 agreement and how to apply.
Select ‘See all updates’ at the start of this page to find out how this action has changed for SFI26 compared with SFI24.
Duration
3 years
How much you’ll be paid
£45 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that no plant protection products containing insecticide are applied on an arable crop or permanent crops.
The purpose of this is to:
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support an integrated pest management approach by managing crop pests in a more sustainable way
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improve water and air quality
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increase biodiversity
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:
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an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
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registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
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declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Eligible land
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow crops (not temporary grassland, fallow land or maize) | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops |
| Permanent crops – horticultural and non-horticultural (not miscanthus) | Permanent crops | Land use codes for permanent crops |
Eligibility of protected land
Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Eligible – you must:
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give notice to Natural England to get SSSI consent before the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) can offer you an SFI26 agreement
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have received SSSI consent from Natural England before you do this action (read section 10.1 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details)
Historic and archaeological features: Eligible – you must get an SFI HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.3 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’ in the SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this).
Available area you can enter into this action
Total or part of the available area in a land parcel. It’s your responsibility to check that the area you enter is eligible for this action.
You must do this action on the area entered into your SFI26 agreement. If something happens which means you cannot complete this action on some or all of the area, you must tell the RPA in writing as soon as possible. Read section 12.2 ‘What to do if you cannot comply with your agreement’ in the SFI26 scheme information to find out how to do this.
Rotational or static action
For arable crops (including non-permanent horticultural crops) this action is rotational. This means you can either:
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do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration
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move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration
For permanent crops, this action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
What to do
You must not apply any plant protection products containing insecticide on land entered into this action, including:
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insecticide seed dressings
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nematicides and acaricides
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other insecticides, such as silica insecticides and orange oil
You can apply herbicides, fungicides or plant growth regulators.
If the land is being used to grow arable crops (including non-permanent horticultural crops), you must do this action on one ‘cash crop’ from when it’s sown until it’s harvested.
A ‘cash crop’ means a crop grown to be harvested for commercial use.
For the purposes of this action, an arable crop includes:
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combinable crops, such as cereals and oilseed rape
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root crops
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field vegetables and salad crops
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soft fruit crops which do not occupy the land for 5 years or more and provide repeated harvests (also known as permanent crops)
You can choose which arable crop to do this action on, but it must not be:
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a cover crop which you will not harvest for commercial sale
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a short-term specialist crop, such as crops which are only in the ground for around 2 months
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maize
When to do it
For arable crops, you must do this action on at least one crop that’s sown during each year of this action’s 3-year duration. You can harvest it in a subsequent year of this action’s duration if you sow the next crop for this action in the same year.
This means you must do this action on a crop that’s sown during:
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the first year of this action’s duration – you can harvest it in the second year of this action’s duration
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the second year of this action’s duration – you can harvest it in the third year of this action’s duration
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the third year of this action’s duration – you must do this action until you harvest the crop or this action’s end date (whichever is earlier)
If you’re already growing an arable crop on the land entered into this action when the action starts, you must do this action on a crop that’s sown within 12 months of the action’s start date.
For permanent crops, you must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of this action’s 3-year duration.
How to do it
It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
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follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
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do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
We’ll publish advice to help you do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
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field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
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photographs or other documentation
If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.
Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action
You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.
| Scheme | Action or option codes |
|---|---|
| SFI 2026 actions | AGF1, AGF2, AHW6, AHW7, CAHL2, CIPM3, CSAM2, OFC3, OFC4, OFC5, OFM4, OFM5, OFM6, PRF1, PRF2, PRF4, SOH1, SOH3 |
| SFI 2024 actions | AGF1, AGF2, AHW6, AHW7, CAHL2, CIPM1, CIPM3, CNUM1, CSAM1, CSAM2, OFA1, OFA6, OFC3, OFC4, OFC5, OFM4, OFM5, OFM6, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, SOH1, SOH2, SOH3, SOH4 |
| SFI 2023 actions | AHL2, IPM1, IPM3, NUM1, SAM1, SAM2 |
| CSHT actions from 2025 | CAB17, CAB2, CAGF1, CAGF2, CAGF3, CAGF4, CHS3, CHS9, CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CSP20, CSP21, CSP9, CSW17, CSW19, CWS1, CWS3 |
| CS options (see additional note) | AB2, AB9, HS3, HS9, OP1, OP2, OP5, OR3, OR4, OR5, OT3, OT4, OT5, SW5, SW6 |
| ES options | No ES revenue options |
Note: other arable CS options not included in the table cannot be done on the same area as CIPM4 because they do not allow the use of insecticides.
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. Read section 5.6 ‘Land that’s already in other funding schemes or grants’ in the SFI26 scheme information for more details.
You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- SFI 2026 actions: CHRW2, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CSHT actions: CHRW4
- CS options: BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Updates to this page
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The following changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version): • land used to grow maize is no longer eligible for this action (see ‘Where you can do this action’ and ‘What to do’) – this only applies to SFI26 agreements, not existing SFI24 or SFI23 agreements • minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions – see ‘Eligibility of protected land’ and ‘Available area you can enter into this action’
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AHW7 added to SFI 2024 actions.
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Where you can do this action - an eligible land type is defined in section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’ in the SFI scheme information. Eligibility of protected land - updated link to section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information. What to do - plant protection products containing insecticide includes insecticide seed dressings. Published voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements.
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First published.