The government has increased funding for catchment management programmes to help farmers stop pollution running off into rivers, while adding 50 inspectors to reduce diffuse water pollution.
The annual budget for Catchment Sensitive Farming programme, which has been running for 15 years, will be £30 million for the next three years, up from £16.6 million in 2020/21.
Funding for the programme, run jointly by Defra, Natural England and the Environment Agency, will allow it to increase coverage across England.
Environment secretary George Eustice said: “There are currently around 40 per cent of farmers involved in the scheme, but today we are doubling the funding available and we aim to have every farmer in the country taking part by 2023.”
He described the programme as “hugely successful in tackling water pollution” with tailored advice and grants to support the investment in infrastructure that protects watercourses.
Separately, Defra announced the EA will be allocating more funding to employ 50 additional inspectors focused on reducing diffuse water pollution from farms.
James Bevan, chief executive of the EA, called this “a welcome development” after previously admitting that financial restrictions prevented the agency from carrying out monitoring and inspections.
He said: “We have said before that additional investment in our monitoring and inspection capability is fundamental to delivering the government’s priorities on the environment.”
According to Defra, agricultural activities across England and Wales are estimated to account for up to 60 per cent of nitrate losses to the water environment, 75 per cent of sediment, 75 per cent of pesticides and 20-30 per cent of phosphorous in waterways.
The increased funding will provide more Natural England advisers to help farmers implement practical solutions to cut pollution, including natural drainage and buffering, planting riverside trees to reduce run-off into the water and improve slurry storage facilities.
Natural England teams will also help farmers apply for grants to invest in equipment and technology that reduce the use of fertilisers and better protect the soil.
Participation to date has reduced the number of serious water pollution incidents by almost a fifth and helped farmers access £100 million in grants.
The EA’s budget has been consistently slashed from £120 million in 2010 to just £40 million this year, which led to farm inspections only likely to occur once in 200 years according to a 2018 report.