Another month and the same topics dominate grower’s conversations, input costs and labour. The latter has been thrown into sharp focus again after the former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was reported to be sympathetic to reforming the immigration in a way which would allow more workers for key sectors which are struggling to recruit, including agriculture and horticulture.
The government’s policy on immigrant and temporary workers has done absolutely nothing to reduce illegal immigration into the UK, and instead growers seem to be seen by certain ministers and MPs as convenient distractions to their own policy failings. Government policies seem to be driven by political dogma and prejudice, rather than sound economic and practical evidence (including current record low levels of unemployment). Given the reducing levels of UK food security and diet-related poor health, government’s refusal to help maintain (let alone increase) the domestic production of healthy, nutritious and environmentally sustainable fruit and vegetables is simply criminal.
Given the political turmoil of Liz Truss’s first few weeks in office, the budget U-turn and her resignation it is not surprising that there are other priorities within Downing Street. The new environment secretary has said he wants to support a dynamic, high tech horticultural industry and promptly shot of to view flashy greenhouses in the Netherlands to prove it – much to the chagrin of British growers who he seemed to ignore. However, while the words may be positive, the actual policies are downright destructive.
There were those who optimistically hoped that Brexit could deliver a golden age for the UK fresh produce sector, with increased production, greater demand, a fair share of the overall agriculture budget and a joined up public health policy which promoted five-a-day and a health diet. Instead, we have seen ministers across government fall over themselves to systematically destroy UK horticulture and export potential production to countries with other issues, such as water shortages or lower production standards.
Growers will be wondering exactly what they have to do to win the support of their own government, especially as the government’s own recruitment campaign during the Covid pandemic was so ineffectual. Evidence in terms of worker and vacancy numbers, reduced turnover or even images of rotting produce in the fields (according to the NFU the labour shortage has cost the industry £22 million in wasted produce this year alone) all seem to have been ineffective over the last seven or eight years.
The shortage of labour, high energy and fertiliser prices, and a refusal by some retailers to reflect the new economics mean that growing vegetables or potatoes looks less and less attractive compared to cereals. With signs that European growers are also looking to cut back, we may yet see even higher food prices (we already have record food inflation) and empty shelves, but give their past record, even this is unlikely to sway some in government.
Maybe it is time to copy our Dutch colleagues and take to the streets in our tractors?
The November issue also contains articles on
- Hazera international days
- Potato stress – Calcium reduces street damage in potatoes
- Crop monitoring – making sense of crop sensing
To read these and more from “The Vegetable Farmer” subscribe today – find out more here.