•
FARMING SEMINAR
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
JANUARY 2017
quality food that is affordable
for everyone,”Minette
continued. “We need to protect
the environment and also sort
out food availability and
production. We have a
wonderful opportunity to
present what [the public] are
going to get.”
This need to think about how
future agricultural policy could
look in the UKwas echoed by
Kaley Hart, Head of the
Agriculture and Land
Management Programme at
the Institute for European
Environmental Policy. Two
thirds of current CAP spending
falls under Pillar 1 single
payments, somethingwhich is
unlikely to continue after the
UK leaves the EU.
“We need to think about
what we want to support in
the future,” she agreed. “Brexit
gives us an opportunity... to do
something that really does
bring farming, the environment
and the climate together.”
She also pointed out that
there are other uses for land
beyond farming and
environmental services. “What
about forestry and rural areas
in general?” asked Kaley.
“How andwhere should
these be supported? Perhaps
we need to think more from a
systems approach or
use private funding
and financial
instruments.”
Whatever form future
policies take, she
stressed that they
should focus on the
required outcomes
rather than telling
farmers what to do.
While seasonal
labour is facing a crisis
of availability, there are
also issues about
attracting young
people into careers in
the food and farming sectors.
Dr JoeMarshall of the National
Centre for Universities and
Business said that the industry
needed better connections with
universities. “There are some
fantastic pockets of innovation
going on, but they are not
necessarily joined up across the
whole sector,” he warned. Not
only does this present a barrier
to the uptake of the latest
technology by the industry, but
if could alsomake careers in
farming and food less obvious
to students.
Such joined up thinking does
occur, particularly in terms of
sustainability, but there is more
to do agreed Susan Twining,
the Head of Sustainable Food
and Farming at ADAS. “There
are some very good examples
of direct involvement, such as
Pepsico reducing carbon and
water use in its UK potato
supply chain,” she explained.
“This partnership approach
works will where there is a
short and dedicated supply
base, but it can bemore of a
challenge with longer supply
chains and commodity
products. Supply-chain driven
policy may not always tie in
with national policy issues.”
With a value of £108 billion
pounds, the food and
farming industry is the
largest in the UK,
employing one in
every eight people. As
chair of the National
Skills Academy for
Food and Drink,
Cambridgeshire
farmer and consultant
Paul Wilkinson is well
aware of the issues of
attracting people to
the industry and then
providing them
appropriate training.
“The crisis in labour supply
could affect the whole
industry,” he warned. “Success
will depend both on the role of
foreignworkers and a well
designed apprenticeships
scheme. We need to tackle the
perceived unattractiveness of
the industry and issues of social
mobility while also stressing
that it is not just about highly
skilled roles. There are a range
of jobs.”
Innovation andgrowth
Even if the industry manages
to solve its potential labour
shortage, it will only be
successful if it can grow
economically, through the
development of innovative new
products and increased trade.
Part of this includes ensuring
that food is safe andmeets
consumer expectations. Dr
Javier Dominguez is Head of
Science, Evidence and Research
at the Food Standards Agency
and he stressed that the
organisations priorities for the
next five years are all about the
interests of consumers. “Our
strategy is about safe,
authentic and affordable food,”
he explained. “Transparency is
at the core of everythingwe
do, alongwith sound science.”
RobWard grew up on a farm
in Shropshire before starting
foodmarketing consultancy
Grocery Accelerator. He pointed
out that the UK food industry
leads the world, but said that it
is important not to lose sight of
the importance of the
consumer at all stages of the
supply chain.
“It is about what goes into
the trolley. The food industry is
split in two. There is cheap and
there is extraordinary. There is
nothing in between.” Not
surprisingly the opportunities to
makemoney aremostly found
on the premium side of the
market.
After the “carnage” of
discounted prices over the last
few years, he said that more
andmoremajor buyers are
now looking for extraordinary
products, creating
opportunities for the industry.
Such products also have the
ability to grow and lead the
market in terms of exports
pointed out Angela Coleshill of
the Food and Drink Federation.
“96 per cent of the food
sector is made up of small
business and this is where the
growth potential will come
from,” she explained. “Only 5
per cent of companies are
currently exporting. Exporting
is an opportunity, but there
needs to be some strong
support on the ground.”
Many attendees felt that this
type of support was lacking in
British policy, with the small
grants available fromUK Trade
& Industry insufficient to help
small businesses grow their
overseas markets. Several
people referred to the excellent
work being carried out by Bord
Bia in the Republic of Ireland
and asked if there was the
opportunity for a similar
organisation in the UK.
With somany issues covered
in such a short space of time,
there were a number of
common themes to arise, and
while labour availability for
horticulture is themost
pressing issue to resolve, the
greatest consensus amongst
both speakers and the
audience was summed up by
Susan Twining of ADAS, who
concluded, “Food, farming
and the environment are
mutually dependent. They
cannot survive without one
another.”
28
Kaley Hart.
Dr JoeMarshall.
Dr Francisco Javier Dominguez Orive of the Food
Standards Agency.
Co-founder of Grocery Accelerator, RobWard.
