The Government has appointed Peter Kendall as the new chairman of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
The appintment, which took effect from April 1, is for a three-year term and will see Mr Kendall paid £50,000 for two days a week, plus reasonable expenses.
Formerley NFU president, Mr Kendall took over the role from John Godfrey, who stepped down after his term in office at the end of March this year.
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A ministerial appointment, made by the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Mr Kendall’s new position was also approved by the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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The parliamentary under secretary of state for farming, food and marine environment, George Eustice, welcomed Mr Kendall’s appointment and said he looked forward to working with him.
“He has considerable experience of the farming and food industry so is well placed to take AHDB forward,” he said. “I would like to thank John Godfrey for all his hard work.”
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Mr Kendal said he had, for a long time, expressed great optimism in the future of British agriculture and believed the AHDB must be central to providing farmers and growers with the tools required to deliver growth over the coming years.
“John Godfrey and his team have worked hard to drive synergies and reduce administrative costs to levy payers,” he added. “It’s essential that this work continues and a clear vision is communicated to levy payers to earn their support and backing for the important work that will be required to ‘grow British agriculture’ over the coming years.”
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Last week, Mr Kendall was named the new president of the World Farmers Organisation (WFO). He was elected during the final session of the WFO general assembly in Buenos Aries, Argentina, and succeeds American Robert Carlson.
The WFO is made up of more than 50 national farmers’ organisations and agricultural co-operatives and was formed to improve the livelihoods of farmers and the viability of rural communities as well as ensuring coherence with other agriculture related activities, such as forestry, aquaculture, the environment, trade, research and education.