A new survey by advocate group Sustain says that most farmers would rather supply their produce directly to consumers, rather than selling to supermarkets.
The group canvassed 500 farmers across England and Wales over a 12-week period from March to June 2020. They found that 56 per cent of those polled wanted to stop selling to centralised supermarkets and larger processors, while a further 20 per cent would consider doing so.
In a representative sample of small to medium farms, including arable, livestock, dairy, horticulture and mixed, the survey found the top three preferred places to supply food were a food hub (55 per cent), direct sales, such as through a veg box scheme (36 per cent), and the eating out sector (29 per cent).
A report by Sustain also showcased case studies of supply chains that are working well for farmers, such as the Helston Local Food Hub in Cornwall, and Manchester-based Organic North.
“We would like to see all our produce being sold to local consumers who would be able to better appreciate its provenance as a result of seeing the system in operation on some of their favourite countryside walks,” one farmer respondent wrote. Reasons for sticking with existing marketing chains included a lack of access to affordable finance a lack of time to research and having no local customer base.
Sustain said the new data provides a “valuable picture of how and why farmers want to access better and fairer supply chains.”
Photo source: Sustain / Dora Damian