Wake-up call to government

By Martin Emmett, chair of the NFU Horticulture & Potatoes Board.

When the NFU launched its horticulture strategy in the spring this year, we called on government to take action against the top ten policies which were either limiting our potential for growth or, worse still, driving production down. The shortages of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in the early part of the year were a wake-up call to government, and retailers for that matter, that the warnings of the industry were not mere scaremongering, but a reflection of the very real challenges growers were facing. Challenges which have seen a number of consecutive years of falling confidence, a drop in investment, and a decline in UK production.

The Government appears to have listened. Just a few weeks after the launch of our strategy it made a number of commitments at the No10 Food Summit to support our sector to not only survive these unprecedented times, but to grow for the long term. When questioned in September by the House of Lords horticulture inquiry on why Defra had chosen not to write its own horticulture strategy, Farming Minster Spencer said that the NFU’s strategy had set out the issues on which they were now taking action. It is wholly our intention to hold them to their word.

One of the key commitments from government was to respond to the NFU’s call for a supply chain review into horticulture. Following in the footsteps of dairy and pigs, a supply chain review in horticulture, we believe, will uncover some of the biggest challenges facing our members, and the behaviours along the supply chain that are driving profitability out of the sector. As I write, the DEFRA horticulture review is expected to launch in late autumn and is a golden opportunity to secure legislative interventions that have the potential to drive out the worst practices within the supply chain. I would strongly encourage all of you to respond to the review when the time comes.

Another key target before this year is out, is to secure a longer-term extension to the seasonal workers scheme. We cannot be in a position in 2024 where we have no certainty for the season beyond. The top fruit sector, in particular, needs certainty due to the long-term nature of the crops. A rolling scheme for a minimum of five years is required to ensure labour access isn’t a limiting factor. Ultimately, the NFU wants to secure a permanent seasonal workers scheme, but with an election not too far away, realistically it will be the next government that we will have to convince of that.

There are so many other issues that need to be addressed, from accessing water and crop protection products, to planning constraints and productivity investment. The NFU horticulture strategy is not merely a glossy document to wave under the noses of politicians and Ministers. It will evolve as these issues evolve and as new ones emerge, and it will set the agenda on which the NFU will continue to fight to deliver confidence and fairness back into the sector.