Catchment Sensitive Farming evaluation
Evaluation is a core part of the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) project: essential for assessing delivery of objectives and benefits.
Diffuse pollution is a complex issue and there is significant uncertainty associated with measuring the benefits of mitigation. To address this, our approach draws on data and information from a range of sources to develop the overall evidence for the benefits of CSF. These include:
- farmer engagement
- farmer awareness and attitude
- uptake of measures to control pollution
- pollutant losses and water quality
Our evaluation of the first 5 years of CSF shows that:
- CSF advice has been delivered to over 9,000 farms covering an area of 1.3 million hectares
- 64% of farms have implemented more than half of the specific recommendations to reduce water pollution - in total 93,000 recommendations were made
- monitored pollutant levels have reduced by up to 30%
The results of our evaluation are outlined in a high level summary report: (149kb)
and a detailed Phase 1 & 2 Evaluation Report: (5.92mb).
Please contact Phil Smith, CSF Evidence Manager, at phil.smith@environment-agency.gov.uk for further information.
