Under 30s OFC scholar’s report

Oxford visions inspire

Laura Hancox attended the Oxford Farming Conference as the Farmers Club Under 30s Scholar. Here she relays her highlights

I am a relative newcomer to the farming industry. I read Human Geography at UCL and then worked for a management consultancy firm in London for five years. I made the move into fresh produce in 2019 and now work for the Fresca Group as a Project Delivery Manager. I am passionate about change and innovation, and the future of agriculture in the UK.

The theme of the Oxford Farming Conference 2020 was “Growing a Healthy Society” – videos of the main presentations can be viewed at www.ofc.org.uk/conference/2020/videos.

The annual Politics Briefing highlighted our diminishing agricultural workforce, the challenges agriculture will face as the UK strives to reach net zero carbon emissions and the importance of coherent trade deals post-Brexit to protect our high food quality standards.

In scholar breakout sessions we were asked to consider what the term “healthy society” really means. There was a consensus that health encompasses environmental, social and economic well-being. We discussed the inevitability of opportunity cost and unintended consequences, and agreed that compromise and long-term planning are required to grow a healthy society in the holistic sense.

We also discussed how large retailers and food corporations can support farmers to deliver high quality food whilst protecting our environment.

Extinction Rebellion used the Conference to lobby Government on biodiversity loss and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025. The Conference Chair commented on the positive engagement between Rebels and Delegates and encouraged the industry to continue to engage in the climate change debate.

My favourite session by far was Henry Dimbleby in conversation with Kamal Mouzawak on the topic of The Power of Food in Society. Kamal is a restaurateur, hotelier and all-around foodie based in Beirut, Lebanon. Over 15 years he has used food to unite Lebanese people from different faiths and political backgrounds. He shared stories of people from different ethnic groups coming together at the Farmers’ Market he founded to learn to cook each other’s traditional dishes and to share food.

His resounding message was: “be the change you want to see, don’t wait for someone else to make the first move”. Kamal reminded us that food is more than a commodity. It is a builder of community, friendship, health, and love.

My thanks to The Farmers Club for the opportunity to spend three interesting days at the Oxford Farming Conference 2020.

JILL WILLOWS SCHOLARSHIP Under 30s are reminded to watch out for details of the 2020 Jill Willows Scholarship to be emailed out shortly. Following on from the successful Scholarship trip to the 2018 RASC Conference in Alberta we will be offering another Scholarship for this year’s conference in Norfolk, UK.