A proposed budget of £12.2m is to be made available to help fund landscape projects which fall under DAERA’s Farming with Nature (FwN) scheme.

These landscape projects are the third strand of FwN, following on from the transition scheme first launched in 2025 and a FwN higher package which opened as an interim measure for some farmers at the end of June 2026.

Explaining the background at the Stormont Agriculture committee last Thursday, DAERA officials said the proposed budget for this third strand of FwN would provide initial funding for 10 successful landscape projects, with 50 participating farmers in each.

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To be eligible, participating farmers in each area must be “broadly connected” across 500ha of land or 250ha if the project covers designated sites, unless an applicant can show their “proposal fits a smaller clear environmental boundary,” confirmed Manus McHenry from DAERA.

The main aim of the five-year scheme is to improve biodiversity and connect habitats in the specific areas.

To apply, a group of farmers will nominate a project coordinator who will manage the project and submit a proposal. Each new project must confirm they have at least five farm businesses on board at this application stage. If the scheme is oversubscribed, the department will assess each proposal against set criteria.

Each farmer participant will receive a payment of £1,500 per year, which accounts for £3.2m of the funding. A further £4m will go to the project coordinators, with the remainder of the targeted at capital spending on farms. Not every farmer in an area has to take part, but a project has more potential to deliver if businesses are close together, added McHenry.

EFS groups

The FwN landscape projects follow on from the group projects within the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS).

There are currently nine EFS groups with their funding due to run out at the end of 2027. Some of these groups are likely to fit the criteria for the new FwN scheme.