Which specific policy mechanisms can ensure the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) supports smallholders rather than just large-scale industrial farms?
To stop the SFI from leaning toward large operations, policymakers should move away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Large farms easily absorb the cost of precision agriculture and IoT-based soil monitoring. Smallholders often lack the capital for such hardware. Therefore, tiered payment structures are necessary. These would provide higher per-acre rates for small-scale plots to offset the fixed administrative costs that hit smaller businesses harder.
Another lever is the simplification of compliance. Currently, digital mapping and complex data logging act as a barrier to entry. If the government provides free, mobile-friendly reporting tools or funds local 'knowledge hubs,' the playing field levels. We should also see
