With another General Election upon us, we currently sit in a period of Purdah which means ministerial decisions cannot be made and lobbying efforts have to be duplicated across all political parties. Politics may be at a standstill again, but the UK horticulture sector doesn’t rest in its aims to deliver the best fruit, veg, plants and flowers in the world, particularly in the run up to the festive period. But to ensure that we can continue to deliver throughout the year the new government must enable the industry to access the labour, water, crop protection products, and investment that will help us to deliver increased productivity and food security, whilst ensuring standards are not eroded by imports.
These policy areas are all reflected in the NFU’s General Election 2019 Manifesto “Back British Farming: Brexit and Beyond", launched this week. There are five key asks for our sector: access to labour; access to water; developing a new UK Producer Organisation scheme; adopting an evidence based approach for crop protection; and promoting the consumption of our delicious produce. Using this Manifesto we will look closely at the commitments all of the political parties make, ensuring that they meet our needs. Furthermore this Manifesto provides a useful overview of topics to discuss with your local candidates during this campaigning period – and I would absolutely encourage all of you to engage with all the political parties on this point. The NFU has also pulled together a handy guide for members to support you when speaking to candidates. We will work with whichever government is in power once the General Election concludes, but we must, and will, act fast to protect our future through 2020 and beyond. This sector is worth backing; it delivers for the economy, for health, for innovation, and for the environment.
At this point, and from the island we have become in the last 24 hours at home, I must also mention the incredibly difficult conditions our members have been facing as high levels of rainfall and floods affect many parts of the country. It is devastating when crops are impacted, or worse written off, after so much time, money and effort has been put into them. There is advice for members that have been affected, ranging from reporting incidents to the Environment Agency, to complying with greening rules, and understanding Force Majeure clauses. This situation not only serves to highlight the vulnerability of our sector to the weather and environment, but also the key role farmers play in water storage and managing our watercourses to manage the flood risk. I wish everybody the best of luck in dealing with this difficult situation.
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