Whether you produce edibles or ornamentals, the Government’s consultation on the future of farming affects everyone. The NFU is finalising its own response, but is also encouraging its members to look at the proposals and respond to this consultation.
With the deadline looming on Tuesday 8 May, if you want to have your say, time is running out.
With such important changes on the horizon, Defra need to understand the diversity and strength of the horticulture and potatoes sector to ensure it is not overlooked in the months to come.
Unfortunately, I’d go so far as to argue that our sector is very poorly understood by Defra at the moment – that’s clear to see from the Command Paper. Horticulture is complex. We have more than 340 crops and there is a lack of understanding of this high-risk, high-returns industry.
Horticulture and potatoes account for 2% of the farmed land area and 4% of farms but account for 24% of farm-gate value. It’s clear that we punch well above our weight.
It’s also fair to say that we are, in many ways, different to much of agriculture. In horticulture, there is a low reliance on BPS… but what we do have is a very high reliance on people.
Labour availability is fundamental to horticultural businesses. Government needs to understand this and the NFU continues to work on this vital issue for members. Growers are now looking at 2018, 2019 and 2020 without an immigration policy from government and potentially no labour. That is not good enough. If you don’t have the workers, there is no horticulture.
Looking at the Command Paper, robotics features highly on the agenda for government, but a reality check is needed. We remain at least 7-10 years away from robots picking fruit unless there is a huge cash injection. Inevitably, when this happens there are huge opportunities for growers to drive product innovation, automation and labour efficiency. But sensible funding opportunities will need to be made available for growers to access these new technologies.
On principles for the environment and productivity…
The sector is highly productive so we have to have environment schemes that work within high production systems. Income foregone does not go down well with horticultural members. We need to reward and incentivise best practice, and give Defra specific lists of best environmental practice by crop.
We want the continuation of match funded productivity schemes, like that of the existing producer organisation scheme beyond March 2019. It’s good for the supply chain and it makes it easier for retailers to do business.
As well as this, we need to make sure match funding and loans are available for individual businesses too, remove arbitrary criteria for grants and measure productivity gains.
On crop protection and plant health…
Science-based crop protection regulation must be based on risk not hazard. Drawing a comparison with Germany, it shows how much of disadvantage we’re at. There are almost 70 less actives in the UK for apples, pears and raspberries, and only 15 left for brassicas.
Looking at plant health and UK biosecurity, there are lots of opportunities for UK horticulture to demonstrate its commitment to many of the plant health principles outlined within the Command Paper – something that is clearly high on the Government’s agenda.
Protecting UK biosecurity is important. But any sudden changes to the current system that impact plant movements (such as slow processing during import/export checks) would severely disrupt trade. That said, an efficient movement of plant material should not be at the expense of good biosecurity. This balance must be found using a well-resourced risk-based approach.
Concluding thoughts…
Bearing all this in mind, if I could urge anything in the coming week, it would be for as many members to respond to Defra’s Command Paper as possible. If you go to the NFU’s Speak Up for Farming’s Future page you’ll find all the information you need. This consultation may be the most important opportunity to influence agricultural and horticultural policy of our generation. And it’s up to us as One NFU to get it right.