Tesco has announced financial incentives for over 400 British farmers to meet sustainable targets as part of the retailer’s push towards its environmental and animal welfare goals.

Starting in September, dairy farmers who supply Tesco’s partner Müller UK will be able to earn up to an additional 2.5p per litre of milk if sustainability goals are met.

Additionally, Tesco’s Sustainable Pig and Beef Group farmers can earn financial incentives for animal welfare improvements, enhancing biodiversity, soil health and reducing emissions.

Farmers who are part of the Tesco Sustainable Lamb Group will also receive extra pay for planting herbal leys.

The retailer projects that farmers could earn up to £9.5m worth of extra payments in the first year.

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The move supports Tesco’s commitment towards broader sustainability goals by promoting a low-carbon UK agriculture sector.

Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK CEO, said: “Earlier this year, as part of our farmer-led Greenprint for UK Farming Report, we published a set of recommendations for the government and industry aimed at ensuring the UK agriculture sector is equipped to transition to a low-carbon future. A key area identified by farmers was the introduction of incentive schemes to help achieve our shared sustainability goals.

“We’re pleased to be acting on these recommendations with the roll-out of sustainability-linked incentives for a number of our Sustainable Farming Groups. These incentives will play a crucial role in ensuring our farmers remain economically and environmentally sustainable for the long term.”