Nick Lee, 17 June 2009
This morning’s IPT breakfast in the House of Commons, ‘the future of British farming’, was an opportunity to discuss the many issues faced by the farming and food sector. In attendance were parliamentarians, farmers, food retailers and other industry stakeholders.
Dr Chris Brown (Head of Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing at Asda) spoke and gave his perspective as a food retailer and Richard Butler, a senior partner at R.J. Butler & Son of Wiltshire also spoke about his experiences and concerns. There was a lively and constructive discussion of the issues.
It was recognised that the performance of British agriculture had been ‘pretty robust’ in the face of the recession. Much has been achieved over the past two decades: farming today is more focused than ever on markets and consumers, and new technology has created a more efficient and intensive sector.
Nevertheless, the food sector faces a number of challenges in the coming years. Firstly, short- and long-term price volatility means that there is a great deal of uncertainty over margins, and soaring input costs (in particular the cost of fertiliser) have undermined otherwise profitable products.
The legislative challenges faced by the food industry were highlighted: changes to the EU rules governing the use of pesticides and Government policy on TB were mentioned in particular. The deep impact of these issues, alongside a haemorrhaging of the workforce, was emphasised.
The dairy industry has struggled in recent years, and the sector is currently running a 40% trade deficit. The spectre of market failure looms large in this part of the sector, and it was clear that those working in the industry were very concerned about this.
The most important long-term issue discussed was research and development. Concern was expressed by all sides – producers, retailers and parliamentarians – about the lack of investment in agricultural research for the long-term, in new technologies or in new research centres. The impact of this was not anticipated in the short-term, but the medium- and long-term risks posed by the lack of a sector-wide approach and of sustained investment were of particular concern to those attending.
I was struck by the opening words of Richard Butler – ‘it’s always nice when a farmer has the last word’ – and if we are to recognise the importance of this sector then it seems that the kind of dialogue embodied by this breakfast is just one way of recognising that.
