FRUIT AND VEGETABLE ALLIANCE – WRITTEN EVIDENCE (HSI0061)

Joint Authorship by members of the Fruit and Vegetable Alliance

Executive Summary

1. Introduction - The Fruit and Vegetable Alliance (FVA) is a consortium of industry leading producer groups, which represent the highly diverse UK edible horticulture sector, and includes representatives of large scale vegetable and fruit production, small-scale agroecological and organic growers, academic and training bodies. It was established in 2018 to increase the production of vegetables and fruit to meet public health consumption targets, as part of the Food Foundation’s “Peas Please” campaign. Our production systems, scales and approaches to horticulture are highly diverse, but the FVA is unified by a desire to get the nation eating more fruit and vegetables, and we are committed to working together to seek positive change for the horticulture sector.
2. Climate change - Impacts include availability of water, unpredictable weather patterns and changing populations of pests and diseases, pollinators and beneficial predators. For E.L.M.S. to incentivise growers to change their methods, payments will need to be sufficient to compensate for high levels of income foregone, in a sector that is financially struggling.
3. Skills and recruitment challenges - For the confidence to invest in crops, growers need to know they will have sufficient labour. A five-year rolling Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme and an ambitious and multifaceted programme of recruitment, training and support for the establishment of new entrants are required to make the sector more attractive.
4. Funding for science, research and development - UK growers need a research system that is responsive and integrated, with government and industry working together to produce a joined-up R&D pipeline, where funding for fundamental discovery, strategic, translational and applied research is balanced, and work together in a virtuous circle.
5. Resources and guidance available to organisations to help them to implement new technology and reduce their environmental impact - It is critical that Defra works with the industry to develop a replacement to the EU Fruit & Veg Aid Scheme.The Farm Equipment and Technology Scheme should be redesigned to remove the risk.
6. The impact of trade on businesses, the environment and bio- and phytosanitary issues - It is essential that trade deals do not result in the undercutting of domestic horticultural production by lowering regulatory standards.
7. Horticulture’s contribution to mental and physical health - A resilient and accessible supply of vegetables and fruit is essential for dietary health, while participating in horticultural production has significant benefits for physical and mental health. Increased domestic resilience in fresh produce would contribute to savings in health costs.
8. Supply chain fairness  - Defra must work with the horticulture sector to promote a fair and transparent trading environment using the powers within the Agriculture Act and to support the creation of alternative, farmer-focussed routes to market that pay a fair price to growers.
9. Conclusion:Edible horticulture at a crossroads - UK horticulture could deliver abundant fresh and healthy food, produced to the highest standards of sustainability, while attracting a skilled and motivated workforce from home and abroad and contributing millions more to the UK economy. However without urgent intervention to address issues ranging from recruitment and training to supply chain fairness, the future of UK horticulture looks bleak.

Full Evidence from the Fruit and Vegetable Alliance

May 2023
 

1. Introduction

1.1.            The Fruit and Vegetable Alliance (FVA) is a consortium of industry leading producer groups, which represent the highly diverse UK edible horticulture sector, and includes representatives of large scale fruit and vegetable production (National Farmers Union, British Growers Association, British Apples and Pears, British Berries); and small scale agroecological and organic growers (Landworkers Alliance, CSA Network, Soil Association, Organic Farmers and Growers, Organic Growers Alliance, Sustain); and academic and training bodies (Warwick University, Lantra).

1.2.            The FVA was established in 2018, with the help of the Food Foundation’s “Peas Please” campaign, with the aim of increasing production of vegetables and fruit to meet public health consumption targets. Our production systems, scales and approaches to horticulture are highly diverse, but the FVA is unified by a desire to get the nation eating more fruit and vegetables, and we are committed to working together to seek positive change for the horticulture sector.

2. The impact of climate change on the sector, and how it can be mitigated

2.1.            Horticulture relies on high quality soil, adequate supplies of water and a stable climate. The UK has a climate that provides high volumes of rainfall, especially in the autumn and winter, while having large pockets of Grade 1 and 2 agricultural land and large areas of Grade 3, which can also be used for small-scale horticulture. By contrast, many of the countries upon which we currently rely for imports of fresh produce are already experiencing water scarcity, brought about by climate change.[1] Even the UK is already experiencing the impacts of climate change, in particular with the droughts and extreme heat of summer 2022, and intense rainfall during the recent autumn and winter. Our long term strategy should be to manage our natural resources better, by building storage capacity for winter rainfall, protecting high quality agricultural land against building developments, enhancing our biodiversity and developing the skills and ambition of a diverse new generation of UK horticultural workers. Horticulture has a relatively small land footprint compared to other agricultural land-use, due to its high productivity. A 50% increase in horticultural production would still require less than 2% of current agricultural land.[2]

2.2.            Carbon negative or positive? UK horticulture has the potential to be carbon negative, rather than being a net emitter of greenhouse gases. Many agroecological growers already reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon  through not using nitrate fertilisers, building soil fertility with green manures, agroforestry or using ramial woodchip from coppice or hedgerow management as a mulch.  Current proposals for E.L.M.S. are insufficient to compensate larger growers for the loss of income from adopting more environmentally friendly practices such as using cover crops and moving away from lowland peat cultivation. Horticulture differs from broad acre agriculture due to the high value of produce it grows on each hectare of land. Despite occupying less than 1% of the UK’s agricultural land (161,000ha)[3], it generates a total of £2.6 billion worth of produce (£1,700 million from vegetable and £917 million from fruit production)[4]. To incentivise sufficient uptake of E.L.M.S. to address climate change, it is necessary to offer a higher rate of payment to compensate for high levels of income forgone.  Vegetable and fruit growers are keen to address environmental issues, and have participated enthusiastically in E.L.M.S.  Tests and Trials, but are sceptical about whether E.L.M.S. will offer sufficient payment to make it worth their while participating[5].

2.3.            Water Management - The major areas for fruit and veg production are in the drier parts of the UK, such as East Anglia and Kent. Summer water abstraction can legally be switched off under Section 57 of the 1991 Water Resources Act. As a result of climate change, we are already experiencing drier summers and wetter winters, with the expectation that this trend will intensify in the foreseeable future. At the same time population growth is increasing the demand for water. For many producers, water security is their biggest concern and for many more it restricts production. In higher value sectors such as soft fruit, irrigation is very efficient with water delivered precisely to the plant roots. In lower value sectors such as field veg, less efficient spray irrigation is the only affordable solution. Since most fruit and veg are over 80% water, the majority of imported produce is essentially importing water from water-scarce countries. This is unethical, unsustainable and poses significant risks to security of supply. Farmers and growers use less than 2% of the total water abstracted annually in the UK.

2.4.            We need a framework that enables the optimisation of UK food production whilst ensuring damaging environmental impacts are avoided, which includes support for on farm and larger multi-use winter storage reservoirs, water efficient technologies and research, such as into new technologies, drought tolerant and water- efficient crops. Policy incentives should enable producers to use water more efficiently; for instance ensuring measures to gather rainwater are part of all new developments, including polytunnels, where the concentrated run-off between tunnels can also cause a serious soil erosion risk.

2.5.            Biodiversity - Climate change is also having an impact on horticultural biodiversity and the dynamics of pests and diseases. The loss of pollinators and predator species that control pest populations is already impacting crop yields. As chemical plant protection products are phased out, growers need to create habitat for natural predators, yet commercial pressures and high rents create barriers to the adoption of more nature friendly farming practices. Growers who want to reduce environmental impacts and build resilience are forced to shoulder the cost and either absorb those costs through increasing efficiencies in the business or charge a higher price, reducing the competitiveness of their produce. Furthermore, short term tenants have little incentive to join agri-environment schemes due to the long term nature of contracts and funds being retained by landowners.

2.6.            Protected cropping and E.L.M.S. - Currently there are few opportunities for protected edibles to be part of ELMS as the current emphasis is the use of ‘land’. This is problematic for protected edibles in the glasshouse and polytunnel sectors, who produce intensively on a small footprint and often with relatively little physical area around polytunnels or glasshouses for a delivery of the classic ‘ELMS’ activities. However, intensive horticulture involves increasing adoption of environmentally friendly practices and techniques while reducing the area of land use for food production through intensive, sustainable production, with minimal use of pesticides through the use of natural systems (predators etc) and a much more controlled environment. Many growers, where land is available, will collect ‘roof water’ and those who do not are often choosing not to mainly because costs can be prohibitive in relation to overall value of the water captured.  An E.L.M.S. Test and Trial focussing on the opportunities for the protected cropping sector to be rewarded for the public goods it does and could deliver, including efficient water use and rainwater harvest, efficient energy use and pesticide free crop protection, would enable co-design between growers, growers’ organisations and Defra to create a workable solution.

3.                                  Skills and recruitment challenges

3.1.           Without sufficient access to a productive and motivated workforce, the UK horticulture sector will contract.  Seasonal roles in particular are difficult to fill from the domestic workforce. While investment in robotics and automation are viewed as medium to long term solutions for the horticulture sector, our need for human labour will be ongoing for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, robotics and automation will change the profile of a proportion of the labour demand, requiring seasonal and trained professionals with technical skills.To provide confidence to invest for the mid to long term, growers need certainty within the seasonal worker scheme for the long term. Greater research and investment in automation and robotics is required to fast track the commercialisation of technologies for the most labour intensive roles. It is critical that the Seasonal Workers Scheme continues to provide sufficient labour to meet the industry’s needs and has longer term certainty – for a minimum of a 5 year rolling programme.  Early decisions by the government are crucial in giving the industry the confidence and security to plant and harvest their crops. 

3.2.           In tandem with an expanded Seasonal Workers Scheme, it is essential that new entrants are attracted to the industry and trained for a diverse range of roles. High quality vocational and technical horticultural courses, opportunities for careers with a positive environmental and social impact, and the prospect of decent livelihood will make horticulture more attractive to new entrants and will build our long term labour supply.  To address the multitude of environmental challenges and new pests faced by the horticulture sector, growers need an expanded range of skills to manage land in a way that builds fertility and soil health; water, so that winter rainfall is stored for summer droughts, and pests with a new generation of more environmentally benign plant protection products.

3.3.           Organic and Agroecological growers’ organisations are already supporting their members through a patchwork of training schemes, campaigns and initiatives designed to support the development of resilient food systems.  Most of these organisations have experienced an increase in demand for their services over the past 10-15 years, reflecting a growing interest in sustainable horticulture careers and business start-ups. Both the Landworkers Alliance and CSA Network have seen rapid growth in the ten years since they each established, with LWA now having 868 members practising horticulture and CSA Network having grown 89 member farms in March 2020, to having 200 member farms in 2023.  Recently established Level 2 and 3 accredited training courses in Regenerative Agriculture (including horticulture) at The Apricot Centre in Devon, found they had 206-283 applicants for 22-23 places, and nearly 500 expressions of interest for the Level 3 course. From the 2022 cohort most have either gone into horticultural or livestock related employment, or gone on to Level 4 (which had 45 applicants for 15 places). Longer running courses at Organiclea (NE London) and Kindling Trust (Manchester) are also popular.[6]

3.4.           An ambitious and multifaceted programme is necessary to change the public perception of horticulture, so that it becomes a career option that attracts intelligent, motivated and practical people who are keen to apply themselves to the challenges of sustainable and healthy food production.  The LWA has proposed a “Horticulture Renewal Programme” to achieve the recruitment, training, establishment of businesses (access to land, investment in equipment and infrastructure), and the rapid development of local and regional farmer focused supply chains. It is essential that all of these issues are addressed simultaneously, to ensure that new entrants are attracted and rewarded by a viable livelihood, while supply keeps pace with demand created for local /regional fruit and vegetables through public engagement and public health messaging.

3.5.           This approach could either be focussed on just the agroecological sector, or extended to the entire horticulture sector, where it would be complementary to The Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH), already being developed to support the continuing professional development of horticultural workers.

4.                                  Funding for science, research and development

4.1.            The fresh produce sector faces significant challenges which will require support from research, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, the arrival of alien pests and pathogens, and the drive to reduce inputs with potentially adverse environmental impact such as pesticides and fertilisers.  For some years the AHDB Horticulture levy has served as the only major applied research funder for the fresh produce sector. With the levy ceasing in April 2022, £7.59 million per year of public good research and innovation has been lost to the industry. At a time when change is needed, research and innovation are at risk of being lost in the UK.

4.2.            UK growers need a system which can respond rapidly to emergent threats, before it becomes fragmented and insular. The fresh produce sector needs a nationally agreed strategy for public good research linked with a capability for best practice knowledge exchange. Academic institutions and the UKRI must work in close partnership with growers to ensure that research agendas meet the practical and policy needs of growers.

4.3.            The system needs to become integrated, with government and industry working together to produce a joined-up R&D pipeline where funding for fundamental discovery, strategic, translational, and applied research is balanced, and work together in a virtuous circle. This could be achieved by co-designing a targeted, mission-driven framework to drive and support innovation within a structure of decarbonisation. The co-discovery, co-design model will ensure that innovation is not seen as linear but instead a circular system where results of applied research are fed back into the next cycle of research through the filter of farmer and grower experiences. Policies need to be sequenced and costed with the involvement of economists, best practice promoted, and exemplar pathways supported as part of a wider knowledge exchange framework in the sector. Initiate a training structure to ensure that the industry has the skills to evaluate and implement new innovation/technology as well as the technical skills to operate it.

5.                                  Benefits and challenges of implementing technological developments

5.1.           The industry has a long history of investment and innovation and has in particular benefited from the funding through the EU Fruit & Veg Aid Scheme which enabled rapid yield and productivity gains across the industry. However, funding for the scheme is due to end in 2025 with no replacement developed. Both large and small growers find it is too risky to invest in new equipment even when capital grants are made available through the Farm Technology and Investment Scheme, due to the match funding element of the scheme.

5.2.           The industry continually seeks to increase productivity, reduce inputs and waste, and deliver better environmental outcomes. With the right level of investment and confidence, further efficiency and environmental gains are possible. However, margins remain incredibly tight and the challenges posed by energy insecurity, labour availability, and the drive towards Net Zero are difficult to achieve by growers alone. Government backing, by delivering a dedicated horticulture productivity scheme, open to both individual growers and collaborative groups, can provide the confidence and investment capacity required to continue to drive innovation forward.

5.3.           For protected crops and those with long term storage, energy costs can be a high proportion of overall production costs. With the current levels of energy inflation, many businesses have cut back production significantly and in some cases by as much as 20-30%.

6.                                  Resources and guidance available to organisations to help them to implement new technology and reduce their environmental impact

6.1.           It is critical that Defra works with the industry to develop a replacement to the EU Fruit & Veg Aid Scheme as soon as possible. The Farm Equipment and Technology Scheme should be redesigned to remove the risk, by making more 100% grants available (ie without matched funding element). Growers need flexibility in the equipment and technology that can be purchased. Wales’ “Horticulture Development Scheme” is an example of how capital grants can be made more accessible to those who would benefit from them.

6.2.           The close link between energy and food means the government must prioritise access to affordable energy for food and horticultural production and the supply chain. It is critical that businesses are protected in the short term from energy price spikes and supported to invest in long term solutions. Energy generation on-farm, such as via combined heat and power plants and renewables such as solar and wind energy, are increasingly being adopted on-farm and have the opportunity not only to support food production but to export energy back to the grid.

6.3.           Government support for investment in farm scale commercial renewable schemes and batteries, alongside investment in grid infrastructure to take surplus energy back to the grid, would build resilience to further energy shocks with immediate effect, while reducing the sectors’ need for ongoing energy subsidies.   The energy support package launched in the autumn provided some protection against sharp peaks in energy costs, but horticulture has not been recognised by the replacement Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) scheme, leaving growers severely exposed to future shocks. 

7.                                  The impact of trade on businesses, the environment and bio- and phytosanitary issues

With the UK importing half the veg and around 85% of the fruit we consume, it is critical that our growers are not undermined and outcompeted by lower standard imported products. Importing foods simply because they can be produced at lower cost elsewhere would see us offshoring our environmental and water footprint to other places at precisely the time we are trying to halt the degradation of important habitats across the world. It also removes our management of labour markets and risks moving production to countries where modern slavery risks are higher. It is critical to embed within new trade deals that we have consistent production standards from imported produce and do not allow practices that would be illegal for UK growers.

8.                                  Lessons learned from horticultural policy and best practice

UK growers can and do compete with the best in the world.  However, unlike in countries such as the Netherlands which has a huge and successful export industry, the UK has not had the same level of political or fiscal support from its government as its Dutch counterparts.  Those investments in the Netherlands have seen its glasshouse sector grow at a much faster rate than in the UK and  it has continued to be supported during the pandemic and through the energy crisis.  The UK government has not even recognised the glasshouse sector as needing support under the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme.

With the right recognition within energy support packages, labour policies, and productivity investment schemes, the UK has a significant opportunity for growth.  The proposed (and now, disappointingly, withdrawn) Horticulture Strategy for England, would have been a prime opportunity to refocus attention on this vitally important sector.

9.                                  The effectiveness of Government planning and policymaking

For decades the horticulture sector has had little policy attention, and many growers have taken pride in their “market facing” position and not being reliant on farm payments.

However, a lack of government involvement, combined with an increasingly aggressive and price focussed supply chain, leaves UK growers taking more than their fair share of risks.  When the market is under pressure, it is often growers that feel its effects the most.

In recent years, one of the most vital components of fruit and veg production in the UK, its seasonal workforce, has seen labour shortages result in crops being left unharvested, production falling, and businesses ceasing trading.  Despite the wealth of evidence of the impacts of labour shortages, the government consistently delayed decisions on the future of the seasonal worker scheme which hit confidence further and drove down production.

In the last couple of years, while input costs have risen sharply, the industry also saw little relief from the government (for example, being excluded from the ETII scheme), while at the same time has faced downward price pressures from retailers.

Again, the promised Horticulture Strategy for England was an opportunity to refocus government attention and to ensure that policymaking was joined up with the ambition to produce more fruit and veg in the UK.

10.                                  The impact of recent legislation on the sector

The Agriculture Act provides an opportunity for government to intervene where market failure occurs in the supply chain.  There is little doubt that the UK horticulture sector is facing into market failure; with a fall in UK production that leaves us reliant on imports from countries that are at greater risk of climate change impacts.  This year, we have seen empty shelves when the rest of Europe has not.

The government has not used the powers under the Agriculture Act to conduct a review of the horticulture supply chain, but it must.

11.                                  Horticulture’s contribution to mental and physical health

11.1.           Diets that are low in vegetables and associated legumes are associated with 18,000 premature deaths in the UK each year, and yet 77% of adults are eating less than the amount of vegetables recommended[7].

11.2.           Henry Dimbleby’s Independent Review for the National Food Strategy highlighted that we need to eat 30% more vegetables and fruit by 2032 (compared to 2019) to bring us in line with advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition[8]. Our calculations, based on Defra data in the Horticulture Report, show that a dramatic increase in UK horticulture production is necessary to ensure a resilient supply. Even at current consumption, current UK supply (3.1 million tonnes) falls far short of the 6.9 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables consumed. The tables below shows how consumption would increase to 10.9million tonnes and 15.1 million tonnes if the UK population were to eat 5 and 7 a day respectively. While some of this is likely to be imported, due to the British taste for exotic produce, much could also be grown in the UK. For example only 15% of pears are UK grown[9]. This leaves the UK dangerously reliant on imports from countries, many of which, including Spain, South Africa, Chile and Israel are at high risk of water scarcity resulting from climate change[10].

11.3.           Abundant literature catalogues the physical and mental health benefits of gardening. A report by Brighton and Hove Allotment Federation[11] showed a reduction in healthcare costs of £32,132, due to reduced stress, depression, loneliness and BMI.  They found that if access to allotments prevents just one person from suffering a stress, depression or loneliness related illness, they have the potential to save local health providers and the wider economy £3408, £13,211 and £9,900 respectively. Furthermore, regular gardening has the potential to reduce obesity related hospital costs by £5613 per annum.  While the FVA represents professional rather than subsistence growers, many of the physical and mental health benefits translate to commercial agroecological production. FVA members the CSA Network and Landworkers’ Alliance have many members who are actively involved in regular forms of public engagement including hosting volunteers, member participation in communal work days as part of community supported agriculture (CSA) schemes and whose own paid work benefits their mental and physical health. An MSc dissertation, as yet unpublished, suggests that volunteering at peri-urban farms brings significant benefits to well-being.  Furthermore,  the annual survey carried out by box scheme Growing Communities showed that 83% of customers eat 5 to 10 portions of fruit & veg a day, which compares well to the 33% of adults and 12% of children are getting their five-a-day nationally[12]. This suggests that people who buy from vegetable box schemes are more likely to eat more vegetables, and many of those who volunteer in peri-urban gardens increase their vegetable consumption.

11.4.           It is critical that a cross departmental approach to horticulture policy is taken, due to the strong health benefits and cost savings that would result from increasing access to and consumption of UK fresh produce.

12.                                  Supply Chain Fairness

12.1.           One topic remains, which is not asked about by the House of Lords Inquiry, and yet upon which the success or decline of the UK horticulture sector depends.  For any business to survive it must be financially sustainable.  Growers are struggling to maintain sustainable margins, fuelled by colliding issues such as inflationary pressures, and a long term fiercely competitive marketplace. As a result, they are unable to recover sustainable farm gate returns from the market. We are at risk of shrinking the horticulture sector at a time when the government has a stated ambition for growth.

12.2.           Whilst food supply chains have developed to be as cost efficient as possible, there is still a considerable concern that primary producers are unable to recover a sustainable return from the marketplace. Diminishing margins of primary producers are leading to a restructuring of the sector, which has already seen a decline in production by as much as 20-30% in some sectors. A recent report by Promar International cited growers’ cost of production has increased by as much as 27% in the 12 months to Autumn 2022[13]. The report warned that despite food inflation at record highs, growers are not achieving the returns needed to run sustainable, profitable businesses. As a result, growers are looking at shifting cropping plans into alternative sectors with better margin return, reducing horticultural production or even leaving the horticulture sector entirely. This shift has been in part fuelled by the marketplace’s pressure to resist absorbing inflationary cost price increases, burdening primary producers with unfair risk and cost of doing business with the grocery market.

12.3.            Grocery inflation is now at record highs. Retailers have increased shelf edge prices in line with rising inflation, yet reports from growers suggest they are not receiving sustainable farm gate returns. The recent report by Sustain, “Unpicking Food Prices'' reveals that the percentage of the profit margin on five commonly purchased food products (including apples and carrots) received by farmers is often less than 1%.[14] British Apples and Pears report farm gate price increases have only risen by as low as 0.8%, when cost of production has rocketed by 23%. Diminishing grower margins are leading to a restructuring of the sector and are causing some growers to leave the industry altogether, while others may be surviving but are unable to invest. Further upstream in the value chain, a consolidating food industry with large intermediary takeovers and buyouts is increasingly becoming commonplace. As a result, growers are concerned about the power imbalance of intermediaries and retailers vs primary producers and the impact this has to their exposure to unfair trading practices and ultimately their ability to recover value from the market.

12.4.           The future viability of UK horticulture requires a fair and transparent trading environment across the chain, and the backing of the government to deliver greater fairness in the supply chain. We need Defra to work with the horticulture sector to promote a fair and transparent trading environment using the powers within the Agriculture Act, the retention of the Groceries Code Adjudicator role, and renew and refresh the GSCOP Code to embed the GCA’s 7 golden rules. The Secretary of State must also use its powers within the Agriculture Act to improve fairness and transparency in the supply chain, particularly acting to support primary producers who fall out of scope of GSCOP, and therefore inherently at risk of unfair trading practices. A fast-moving, demand led supply chain can create unfair trading practices at all stages across the value chain, but the risk and cost of such tends to fall on the shoulders of primary producers. For example, last minute order cancellations or unambiguous terms and conditions can unnecessarily bleed value out of an already small margin business operation. Without regulation to underpin best practice trading, primary producers have little power to address unfair trading in the supply chain. The Principle of Fair Dealing, defined in law under GSCOP, is a good example of how the government can create a framework which promotes trading best practice to prevent value leaking out of an already stretched value chain.

12.5.            A more diverse distribution system is already emerging, but currently represents a tiny fraction of the fresh produce market. Farmer focused routes to market include all those direct and retail sales options which prioritise environmental sustainability, the farmer being paid a fair price for their produce and worker welfare all along the supply chain (i.e. a living wage, good working conditions). The organisation Better Food Traders (BFT) was established in 2019 to accredit and support the growing number of enterprises that are trialling innovative ways to apply the principles of sustainable farming, trading fairly with farmers and being transparent with customers. Enterprises accredited by BFT include vegetable box schemes, food hubs and independent retailers. Other farmer focused routes to market are direct sales, such as farmers markets, farm shops, vegetable box schemes and community supported agriculture (CSA) schemes.

12.6.            A cost benefit analysis by the New Economics Foundation of the organic fruit and vegetable box scheme Growing Communities in the London Borough of Hackney in 2020 showed that “Growing Communities generated £6,293,700 in economic, commercial, social, and environmental value in 2019/2020, from £1,688,600 of costs (including the opportunity costs) giving it an overall cost-benefit ratio of £3.73 of value generated for each £1 of costs” (Ref Jaccarini C.,Lupton-Paez M. and Phagoora, J. (2020) “Farmer Focused Routes to Market: An evaluation of the social, environmental and economic contributions of Growing Communities”. New Economics Foundation and NEF Consulting. Additional benefits of farmer focused routes to market are that there is less waste and packaging, as produce is fresher and requires less refrigeration due to being harvested a short time before delivery.

13. Conclusion - Horticulture at a Crossroads

13.1.            The UK edible horticulture sector is at a crossroads. It could become world leading, delivering abundant fresh and healthy food, produced to the highest standards of sustainability, while attracting a skilled and motivated workforce from home and abroad and contributing millions more to the UK economy. There is potential for a dramatic increase in production to meet existing domestic need for fresh produce, and to meet increased demand if the British population were to follow public health recommendations for fresh produce consumption. However current economic conditions are driving many growers to reduce the acreage they are committing to fruit and vegetable production, as they can no longer cover production costs. Without urgent intervention to address issues ranging from recruitment and training to supply chain fairness, the future of UK horticulture looks bleak. The recent salad shortages could quickly become shortages of all UK grown fruit and vegetables, leaving us vulnerable to political and climate induced food insecurity.

13.2.            Government leadership through public procurement policies that prioritise British grown fresh produce, would provide a foundation for growth by providing confidence among growers to invest in technology and training. The threat of losing out on a market due to being undercut by cheaper imports is a serious disincentive for growth. Prioritising UK produce in public procurement contracts for hospitals, prisons and other public canteens, using dynamic procurement technologies, and introducing a target-based approach such as those employed in Denmark and France, would send a signal to the horticulture sector that the Government is committed to supporting a thriving horticulture sector.

13.3.            The Fruit and Vegetable Alliance is eager to work with Defra and other Government departments to create an edible horticulture strategy which delivers a productive, sustainable and economically vibrant industry which attracts motivated and skilled workers. Such a vision is achievable if we work strategically together.

12 May 2023