M&S says that it has helped suppliers to make a number of new investments made under its Plan A sustainability scheme to prioritise the availability of British produce. By focusing on UK-grown produce, the company aims to reduce its carbon footprint and provide fresher options for consumers.
These have included areas such as soil health monitoring, precision farming techniques and advanced irrigation equipment. One of the most visual examples has been the installation of polytunnels by Herefordshire grower Andrew Green, which has allowed him to bring his Tenderstem broccoli harvest forward by three weeks, meaning it is also available for customers earlier than in previous years.
The retailer has previously worked with the Chinn family to bring asparagus crops forward using similar techniques. “We know our customers want to shop more seasonably that’s exactly what these projects will help them to do, if rolled out across our entire supply chain,” said Elizabeth van Niekerk, head of produce at M&S Food. “With more British produce grown over longer seasons, we can reduce our freight emissions.”
The investments via the Plan A Accelerator Fund have also helped three strawberry growers to use technology from Scottish agri-tech company AgriSound to trial precision pollination. It has also introduced new strawberry varieties including Red Diamond, King, and White Pearl.
“Using the latest tech to target pollination would help our growers increase their yield of high quality British strawberries on our shelves,” added Elizabeth. “By trialling these projects, we’ll be able to learn with and support our growers and partners to roll these out at commercial scale, to ultimately make it easier for our customers to make sustainable choices when shopping with us.”
