The NFU and AHDB have announced the next steps for a jointly-run independent review of farm to fork assurance.
The next steps include appointing an independent commission to oversee the review and ensure full transparency and the opportunity for farmers and industry to have their say. Further details will be announced in due course.
The NFU announced two reviews in October in response to the furore over Red Tractor’s plans to introduce a Green Farms Commitment, without full consultation with farmers.
A review of Red Tractor’s governance, undertaken by consultants Campbell Tickell, is already underway. In an update, the NFU Council was told this week that the work to date has identified that ‘there is much agreement that UK food assurance has a vital continuing role’. There are, however, questions around how exactly the role of farm assurance should be defined in today’s more challenging environment. The review has also found that the processes and documentation in place are ‘largely sound’.
The council also heard from Campbell Tickell that the reviews into Red Tractor were a ‘once in a generation opportunity to rebuild trust and relevance’. Recommendations from this review will be outlined in a final report by Campbell Tickell, which they confirmed is on track to be delivered later in February.
Wider review
The wider review of farm assurance will also get underway soon. NFU and AHDB said they believe now is the right time to conduct a ‘robust and transparent review to ensure assurance schemes are fit for purpose in the modern farming environment, for both their members and for home and international markets’.
The review, which will seek to capture views from across the whole industry, including farmers, growers, merchants and processors, will examine:
- How farm assurance can deliver value back to scheme members.
- How standards are developed to meet the evolving needs of members, the markets they serve, sector diversity and in appreciation of the global marketplace.
- How assurance members are engaged with (including the development of standards), inspected and how technology is used in assurance now and in future.
- How assurance schemes can and should fit with regulation and government schemes to best serve members.
NFU President Minette Batters, who will step down from her role at the NFU Conference in February, said: “The world is very different to the way it was when farm assurance schemes started in the UK some 25 years ago, not least thanks to huge changes in the way food is produced, coupled with increased interest from consumers about where their food comes from.
“It’s time for change. Farmers and growers don’t feel that many schemes currently work for them. This review will see us go back to basics to look at the future of assurance and I would encourage the entire industry to positively engage with it.
“Food safety, branding, provenance, differing sector needs and sustainability are just some areas that farm assurance is trying to address. It is right to ask how these areas can be delivered without giving away value from the farm gate.”
AHDB Chair Nicholas Saphir said: “We are consistent in stating that it is vital that the reputation of levy payers’ produce is maintained by assurance and where relevant, audits, to underpin the work we do on behalf of the industry in regard to promotion in the home and export markets.
“This independent evidence based review will allow us all to understand and address the future needs and opportunities that assurance has to play for the successful future of our industry.”