The management team at the National Pig Association (NPA) are considering the industry’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities as part of their task of setting their own organisation’s priorities for the next five years.
Today’s “thinking cap” focus is on strengths and weaknesses while tomorrow’s attention will be directed towards threats and opportunities as they apply to UK pig production.
The process was launched during a professionally-led strategy day and is being carried on this week via NPA website updates of the team’s thought processes, alongside an open invitation to members to “chip in with their own thoughts”.
While describing itself as a “small and modestly-resourced organisation” NPA points to a “good track record of influencing industry outcomes in a notoriously fast-moving industry”. The organisation also acknowledges, however, that there are many difficulties ahead, not least due to working in an environment which is increasingly influenced by European and global events.
Several key issues have already been raised by producer and allied industry members, such as the burden of supporting a significant number of non-members who “reap the rewards” of NPA’s work, but who “refuse to contribute” to operating costs. Another key discussion point concerns NPA’s future role if BPEX becomes “subsumed into the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board”.
Ultimately, however, the greatest identified challenge remains the risk of “cataclysmic disease” hitting the UK industry, a threat which NPA believes must keep national and on-farm biosecurity at or very near the top of their five-year priorities.