This week, I attended a meeting organised by the British Growers Association to discuss the future of Producer Organisations (POs) in the UK. With over 20 POs represented in the room, we initially heard from Defra who explained that, post-Brexit, the existing EU Fruit & Veg Aid scheme (the PO scheme) will no longer apply in the UK and will formally come to an end. However, the Agriculture Bill gives a provision to create a new UK based PO scheme and it is on this point that the meeting set out to define what that might look like.
We are in the early stages of this discussion, and I’m keen to hear the view of growers as to what they value from being in a PO, or what has prevented them joining a PO. At this week’s meeting we considered the benefits and drawbacks of the existing scheme and considered what principles should govern a new scheme to ensure that UK horticulture can provide a return on the tax payers’ investment. The value a PO scheme must deliver is multi-faceted. It needs not only to deliver increased productivity for UK businesses but ultimately it must provide for affordable, high quality, British food for consumers.
For the NFU, it is also important that a new scheme is opened up across the whole of the horticulture sector. To include crops previously excluded, such as potatoes and ornamentals. This may be a tougher challenge as it would be very tempting for government to simply replicate what we already have. But there is a long way to go; even under a no-deal Brexit, the government has committed to funding existing PO’s until the end of the parliament so a new UK scheme may be some way away from being implemented.
For now, it is important we hear your views, and I would encourage you to get in touch with the team at headquarters to share your thoughts.