As this issue went to press the industry was still busy digesting the outcomes from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Food Summit at Downing Street on the 16 May Initial reactions ranged from disappointment and a suspicion that it was merely a PR exercise to a more positive interpretation that the PM takes issues such as food security and productivity seriously and is keen to deliver real results before the next election. As always the truth is probably somewhere in between and only time will tell.
There is no doubt that the summit meeting which included farmer and grower organisations, supermarket bosses and other high-profile figures (such as Charlie Ireland and Kaleb Cooper from Clarkson’s Farm) came after a frantic period of political activity around our sector, much of it negative.
There was the news, confirmed by farming minister Mark Spencer that the government would not create and publish a strategy for horticulture, something that it had committed to in the wake of the Food Strategy, and which had been welcomed by the industry. In his statement, Mr Spencer more or less admitted that the sector is too complex for ministers to get their heads around. In fact, the horticulture strategy is just one of several recommendations from the Food Strategy that the government has not taken forward, and Food Strategy author Henry Dimbleby was a notable absence from the guest list at the Food Summit.
Another slap in the face for the industry came from Home Secretary Suella Braverman who said there was “no good reason” for the country not to train its own fruit pickers and lorry drivers, despite years of carefully collected evidence (and the failure of the government’s own 2021 recruitment scheme) that it is simply impossible to recruit the tens of thousands of seasonal workers that the industry needs each year from domestic sources.
There are signs that some Tories, such as Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston are starting to realise that a lack of overseas workers is acting as a brake on the economy and are Now calling for increased legal economic immigration. However, Braverman’s enshrined dogma that all immigration is bad currently holds sway, partly it would seem to cover her own inability to control illegal channel crossings from France.
Growers were also disappointed at the end of April when Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick stressed that the government would not turn the seasonal worker scheme into a long-term programme or extend the amount of time that workers on the scheme can stay in the UK.
With so much despair and resentment at government policy among British farmers and growers (many of whom are traditionally Conservative voters) it is no wonder that Rishi Sunak is keen to deliver something for agriculture and horticulture ahead of the next Election. Reports from the Summit suggest that there may be more movement to come on the issue of seasonal labour (even Mr Jenrick said that the scheme is kept under ‘ongoing review’). As one attendee at the Summit pointed out the industry now needsto work hard to ensure growers get as much benefit from the Prime Minister’s intentions as they can.
The June issue also includes article on:
- Reducing the environmental impact of nitrogen
- Uncertain future of R&D remains
- Mechanical weeding – simple or highly technical
- Keeping on top of early might
- Irrigation interval key to scab control
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