New research by Opinion Matters on behalf of organic veg box company Riverford, had found half of British fruit and veg growers say they may go out of business in the next 12 months. 75 per cent of those asked said treatment by supermarket buyers was one of their top concerns.
The findings have led to more than 100 farming and food leaders sending an open letter to the ‘big six’ supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl) urging them to treat suppliers more fairly amid warnings British agriculture is ‘on its knees.’ Signatories include industry bodies Sustain and The Soil Association, chefs Rick Stein and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, conservationist Ray Mears and TV presenters Julia Bradbury and Jimmy Doherty.
In the letter, founder of Riverford, Guy Singh-Watson, writes, “British agriculture is on its knees, and that’s why most small family farms think that they’re not going to be in business the next generation. Farmers need to be treated fairly; they need some commitment from supermarkets.
“Sustainable trading relationships are based on co-operation, good communication and trust as much as competition. A brutal, short-term focus on annual price negotiations is supporting supermarket margins while destroying British farming along with the landscape, wildlife, and rural communities it once supported.”
One potato farmer, who didn’t want to be named, added, “I’ve not grown for the major supermarkets for five years, and I would never go back. It cost me £25,000 to grow the crop – they just said ‘we don’t want them now’ – that was it, 60 metric tonnes of potatoes wasted.
The letter is part of a new #GetFairAboutFarming campaign by Riverford, calling for supermarkets to adopt the principles of its own Fair to Farmers charter. The principles include pay what you agreed to pay; buying what you committed to buy, agreeing on fair specifications; long-term commitments and paying on time.