NFU Horticulture and Potatoes board chairman, Ali Capper, looks ahead to the opportunities for delivering a more productive and profitable horticulture sector in 2018 and beyond.
Michael Gove’s commitment at the beginning of this year to sustain existing CAP payments up to 2024 was welcome news. Ever since Brexit was confirmed, all industries, including horticulture, have been seeking reassurances that there will not be a cliff edge in March 2019, and this announcement goes a long way to delivering that. It does not mean there will be any let up in our efforts to secure the essential regulatory reforms we need to enable the UK to be competitive in a global marketplace, but it does give us a little room to breathe.
There was also some welcome news from the (now former) Immigration Minister in a letter which sets out the government’s commitment to secure EU citizen’s rights post-Brexit. This will hopefully go some way to providing much needed reassurance to any EU citizens currently residing in the UK or considering coming to work on UK farms during 2018 and 2019. But it’s unlikely this will be enough to significantly halt the decline in the numbers of seasonal workers we’ve seen over the last few years, so there remains an immediate need for government to implement a new seasonal workers scheme that we can use to top-up any shortfall. We had made good progress with the former Immigration Minister and will be engaging with his replacement as soon as possible.
During 2018 there will be a thorough review of what the horticulture sector needs from a new domestic agricultural policy. Michael Gove has made it clear that payments (post 2024) will be based on delivering public goods, not how much land people own. We’ve already made representation to government to maintain the current Producer Organisation scheme in the short term with a view to developing it further for the benefit of the whole sector. Going forward, it’s important to determine what measures our sector needs to help us increase productivity, reward our efforts to maintain and enhance the environment, and recognise the high standards of food safety we are so very proud of in the UK.
Momentum on the NFU’s Fit For The Future initiative will also continue this year, as will our drive to get consumption of fruit and veg up. Our ambition is to increase sales of fresh produce and start to reverse the decline in self-sufficiency. To do this, we need commitments from the supply chain, but also a cross-party Food Plan that brings together all relevant government departments. Securing the future of UK farming and improving public health are in the national interest, growers have an important role to play in this.
As ever we have a lot to do. Far more than is simply highlighted here. But I look forward to what I hope will be a productive and profitable 2018 for the whole of the horticulture and potatoes sector.