McCain, the UK’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, has launched the McCain Potato Farmer Pledge, an investment of £25 million in the British potato industry.
The company says the investment will help British farmers manage the increasingly erratic weather caused by climate change as well as the impact of COVID-19, and also strengthen McCain’s partnerships with its farmers and benefit wider industries such as retail and hospitality.
“British potato farmers have been hit immensely hard in recent years,” said Howard Snape, Regional President at McCain GB & Ireland. “Having faced a major drought and the wettest harvest on record, they’ve experienced two of the worst crops in 40 years. Added to that, without us honouring our contracts with growers and finding alternative outlets, they would have been left with a huge surplus of wasted potatoes due to COVID-19 shutting down the hospitality industry. Today’s investment will not only help the potato industry but will also strengthen McCain’s partnerships with farmers and support the wider supply chain including our customers and suppliers.”
The Pledge is split into three elements, including multi-year incentives to reward farmers who continue to grow potatoes, grant funding to increase harvesting capacity and sustainable production, and sustainable contracts.
As part of its commitment to honour all grower contracts despite COVID-19, McCain worked to minimise wastage by reallocating potato varieties normally earmarked for foodservice to retail product lines, donating surplus stock to food banks via its partnership with FareShare and, where possible, storing potato stock for use next season.
Photo source: McCain’s