The Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) has today welcomed the ambition of the Government's newly published Organic Action Plan for England, but warns that the strategy is fundamentally undermined by the recent abrupt suspension of essential farmer funding.

While the new plan aims to increase organic farmland in England from 3.4% towards 10% by 2036, the sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme just two weeks ago has completely cut off organic conversion payments. Without this critical financial bridge, farmers are unable to meet the significant upfront costs of transitioning to organic systems, leaving the Government's vision stranded on paper before it has even begun.

This comes at a time when UK consumer demand for organic produce outstrips home grown demand. UK organic retail sales reached £3.9bn in 2025 - with Tesco, ocado, M&S and Waitrose recently expanding their organic ranges.  

To prevent the Action Plan from failing at the first hurdle, the SFT is calling on the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to immediately reopen SFI applications or introduce an interim organic conversion support scheme.

Patrick Holden, Founder and CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust, said:

"The ambition set out in the Organic Action Plan is welcome and long overdue, but setting target figures without providing the financial mechanisms to reach them is a hollow exercise. Organic farming offers proven solutions for soil health, biodiversity, climate adaptation, and long-term food security. Yet right now, farmers who are ready to make this transition have had the ladder pulled up from under them. If the Government wants more English organic food on our shelves, it must back its words by unlocking the promised funding immediately."

Stuart Oates, Organic Farmer and SFT Spokesperson, said:

"My family has farmed profitably using organic methods since 1999, proving that organic agriculture works both ecologically and commercially. Consumer demand for British organic produce is at an all-time high, sitting at £3.9 billion. However, because English conversion support has vanished overnight, British agriculture risks forfeiting this market growth to overseas imports. Farmers are literally locked out of meeting our own market demand."

The real-world consequences of this funding freeze are already taking effect across the country. David Wheatley, of Cambridge-based organic flower farm Petite Peonies, had planned to transition additional acreage into organic production this autumn, but has been forced to freeze expansion due to the unexpected loss of conversion support.