Challenges and Options for the UK Agri‐Environment: Presidential Address

After fifteen years of agri‐environment policy it is now appropriate to take stock of these policies. This is important because these policies are scheduled to expand in the coming decade, their benefits are likely to continue growing and the demand for benefits is also likely to expand. This paper therefore reviews the current agri‐environmental situation, isolating some of the current challenges to the schemes implemented in the UK, and compares main options for their amelioration. Finally it focuses particularly on the “end of contract problem” arising from the weak sustainability of the policy benefits from short‐term voluntary contracts.