The first UK-wide, comprehensive review of farm assurance has called for a fundamental reset of the system in a bid to rebuild confidence amongst farmers.
The review, established by the UK farming unions and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), was conducted independently by four commissioners.
It concludes that farm assurance is critical to the industry’s future, is delivering necessary assurances on quality to consumers but must make some fundamental changes to address growing frustration amongst farmers in the way it is delivered.
The review makes nine recommendations:
- On-farm audits must be reduced, simplified and delivered more consistently
- There must be a transformational step forward in embracing technology
- Schemes need to reset and/or restate their structures to establish farmers as the driving voice in standards development
- A new, industry led, initiative must set out the future environmental ambitions for farm assurance
- The inclusion of regulatory requirements within farm assurance should be conditional on government agreeing a form of ‘earned recognition’
- There must be greater collaboration between farm assurance schemes across the UK
- Schemes must better position the UK farming industry in world food markets and in competition with imported food
- All schemes must review and improve their communication with farmers
- The Red Tractor scheme must complete the implementation of recommendations in the Campbell Tickell report on its governance.
The nine-month review collected evidence from every link in the UK food supply chain. The dissatisfaction expressed by farmers was not uniform across all sectors nor across all nations, notably with assurance schemes in devolved areas working more effectively than UK-wide schemes. The report recognises where existing arrangements work well but is clear about where changes are essential.
The nine strategic recommendations are supported by 56 operational recommendations, with clear lead bodies and timescales.
Lead Commissioner Dr David Llewellyn said: “The is the first fundamental look at UK farm assurance since it was established in the 1990s. So much has changed over the past 30 years, and we know that further change is on the horizon for the farming industry.
“Farm assurance must be a critical part of that future. However, for that to happen, significant changes are needed to win back farmer confidence where it has been lost, to build on what already works well and to secure a competitive edge for UK farming on the world stage.
He said “competing interests and ambitions for the farm assurance system” had, over time, “added complexity and stress for farmers, many of whom now struggle to identify any real benefits to their business”, adding: “Worse still, many feel they live in a permanent state of jeopardy with ‘make or break’ audits determining whether their businesses can operate or not.”
The reality, he said was that “too many farmers feel farm assurance is ‘done to them’ rather than ‘delivered with them’,” adding: “It should be better than this.”
Dr Llewellyn went on: “The farmers we consulted want to produce to the highest standards and to be supported by assurance schemes in that endeavour. However, they also want to be appropriately compensated for the considerable effort required by the current farm assurance system.
“We recognise that the system is essential to provide assurance of high production standards. However, it must deliver for all parts of the food chain, including contributing to a process of continuous farming improvement, something the approach of the current assurance system does not always provide.”
The National Beef Association (NBA) welcomed the “thorough and comprehensive report”, with CEO Neil Shand calling on stakeholders to “carefully consider the strategic recommendations outlined”. He went on: “These recommendations offer some clear directions, and we think these directions are important for the industry to follow”, adding: “We are very much enthused by the strategic focus, which aligns closely with the priorities and sentiments expressed within the industry.”
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