A Somerset MP is calling for urgent action to support farmers and rural communities.
Gideon Amos, who represents Taunton and Wellington for the Liberal Democrats, has criticised the "shambolic" rollout of the government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), a funding scheme designed to promote sustainable agriculture.
The scheme opened in late September with "virtually no notice" and closed just six hours later when funds were exhausted.
Mr Amos raised the issue during a debate in Parliament, highlighting the impact on farmers in his constituency, including James Hebditch from North Curry and Tom Pope from Staple Fitzpaine.
He said: "Farmers in Taunton and Wellington have been hit incredibly hard by this debacle.
"For residents, farmers and visitors to my part of Somerset alike, the hedges, field margins and wildflower meadows funded by the sustainable farming incentive are the very fabric of the countryside that we know and love, from the Quantocks to the Blackdown hills and across my constituency.
"Yet all of that has been put under threat simply because of a badly mismanaged system that this government could and should fix."
Mr Amos described the impact on Mr Hebditch, whose field was rejected due to a "glitch" in the government portal.
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He said Mr Hebditch "was caught out by the government’s own system on land that the RPA already had on its books.
"When farmers are fighting a failing portal, they do not have time to sit on hold for hours.
"The consequences of that failure are devastating.
"The hedges and habitats James maintained for years under previous schemes will likely have to be ripped up just for his farm to remain viable and profitable."
Mr Pope told Mr Amos that without a replacement scheme, he may be forced to plough up environmental areas to return them to arable production.
Mr Amos also supported a Liberal Democrat motion calling for long-term funding guarantees for all eligible applicants, reversal of the family farm tax, and an additional £1bn per year for agricultural and environmental land management.
The motion was defeated in the House of Commons by 279 votes to 57, with all Conservative MPs abstaining.
Following the debate, Mr Amos said: "I was proud to vote for our Liberal Democrat motion demanding immediate funding guarantees for locked-out farmers.
"It is an absolute disgrace that farmers in Taunton and Wellington, working tirelessly to keep food on our tables and protect our countryside, are being failed time and again."
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