As we begin to leave the long winter nights behind us and start to see the first glimmers of spring, it’s clear that the last couple of months have also brought a few rays of hope for the industry.
Not only that, but after intensive lobbying from the NFU, it was encouraging to see the Home Affairs Select Committee recommend that the Government consider a new SAWs scheme in a report released in January.
They point out that there is already evidence that access to UK and EEA labour markets is insufficient to meet current demand and that such a scheme would help meet labour and skills shortages in the sector. This is clearly in line with the NFU labour provider survey results which show a 12.5% shortfall of seasonal workers in 2017. Compare this to 2016, where, despite some shortages recorded around the Referendum and towards the tail of the year, labour providers were just able to meet the recruitment needs of their sectors when you consider the year’s demand as a whole. Indeed, this is the first year since the end of SAWS and the NFU’s survey began that the horticultural sector has ended the year with labour supply insufficient to meet the demands of the sector. There are fears that this predicament will only worsen in 2018 with a real threat of supply chain disruption, so a SAWS-type scheme would be a much-needed lifeline.
This is one of many areas where growers remain in the dark and need clarity and commitment from government to address the burning issues that are affecting their businesses.
NFU lobbying continues on securing a SAWS-type scheme, although frustratingly, just six months after Brandon Lewis was appointed Immigration Minister in June last year, another Cabinet reshuffle this January saw him moved onto a different role. The NFU has shared evidence of the issues growers are already facing with new Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes and will continue to lobby the Home Office to find a resolution for this key issue for Members.
Urgent clarification is also needed on the future of funding for UK-based Producer Organisations post-Brexit. At the moment, funding is only guaranteed until 2019, but with schemes running from 3 to 5 years in duration, the absence of certainty is putting the integrity of existing schemes at risk and preventing growers from planning ahead. As an important and integrated part of the UK’s fruit and veg supply chain, POs are by their very nature designed to encourage increased productivity and sustainability: all things that Defra want to see post-Brexit. In light of Government’s current direction, it seems only counterproductive to neglect the existing agreements and potentially nullify past investment in this sector. Government needs to stand up and provide the same clarity here as it has done for other parts of CAP funding. There is nothing as oppressive for business as uncertainty.
The way in which crop protection legislation is applied in the UK is also an issue that urgently requires review. True, Brexit creates an opportunity to develop a more enabling, efficient, risk and science-based approach on crop protection that could achieve a triple win of maintaining the highest standards of consumer and environmental protection, continuing to enable trade, and creating better and more effective outcomes for UK farmers and growers. But at the moment, the system leaves much to be desired. The lack of parity between registrations in the UK and other member states, and the inconsistent approaches we are seeing on emergency authorisations demonstrate that the current system has failed to capture the opportunities of harmonisation and mutual recognition. The perpetual loss of actives is making some crops borderline-untenable and as such, we need parity with the EU before we are enter into the Brexit transitions to ensure that we are not in a disadvantaged state from the outset. To that end, the NFU is working with CRD and Defra to explore ways of fixing inoperabilities, promote the importance of a risk and evidence-based approach to decision making, and encourage a faster assessment process.
If this is anything to go by, it is clear that there is still much to do between now and the day the UK leaves the EU. 2018 needs to be the year that Government sheds light on the many remaining areas of confusion. Time is running out. But despite the uncertainty that currently prevails, one thing is certain: the NFU will continue to work to seek clarity for Members on all these issues and many more.