Guidance

Farming Recovery Fund: February 2020 Handbook and application portal

Find out if you are eligible for The Farming Recovery Fund which provides assistance to farmers whose agricultural land has been damaged by flooding.

This publication was withdrawn on

Please see the Farming Recovery Fund collection page for any eligible schemes.

Documents

Details

This scheme is now closed for applications. Please see the Farming Recovery Fund collection page for any eligible schemes.

Terms and Conditions for February 2020 FRF Agreement holders

If you have received an Agreement for February 2020 FRF from RPA, you must read and accept the terms and conditions of all the Annexes before you accept the Agreement.

Scheme

The Farming Recovery Fund provides assistance to farmers whose agricultural land has been damaged by flooding and declared a natural disaster by the Government. The Fund provides financial assistance up to 100%, with a minimum grant level of £500 and a maximum grant level of £25,000.

Financial assistance is made available within the scope of Article 30 and the general conditions of the Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation (EU) 702/2014, with assistance being provided to cover non-insurable items and activities such as re-cultivation, reseeding, reinstating field boundaries and removing debris from agricultural land.

Eligibility for the scheme has been pre-determined on the basis of satellite data of the flood extents in February 2020. Farmers can apply via a new application portal which will confirm which land parcels are affected and are therefore eligible for recovery work. Applicants can apply manually if they are unable to use the portal in a limited set of circumstances. No evidence is required at application.

The Rural Payments Agency, on behalf of DEFRA, administers the scheme and issues agreements. Once the work is complete, the Rural Payments Agency processes claims for payment and checks supporting evidence, including photographs of the damage and work being claimed, to ensure it has been completed in line with scheme requirements. A number of site inspections are undertaken to verify the works.

Published 18 June 2020
Last updated 2 September 2020 + show all updates
  1. This scheme is now closed as the deadline for applications was 1 September 2020.

  2. First published.