Almost half (49%) of British fruit and vegetable farmers say it’s likely they will go out of business in the next 12 months, with many blaming supermarkets and their buyers, according to new research by organic veg box company, Riverford.
The survey, conducted by Opinion Matters to launch Riverford’s new ‘Get fair about farming’ campaign, found that for 75% of farmers, treatment by supermarket buyers was one of their top concerns. Some 30% said they had an order cancelled without explanation, leading to loss of income and food waste; a similar amount said supermarkets had failed to pay them within 30 days.
Almost 100 chefs, farmers and celebrities have signed an open letter urging supermarkets to treat farmers more fairly. The CEOs of the big six – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl – were warned that their behaviour was jeopardising the availability of fresh, healthy, locally-grown food.
“If farms continue to close, the British produce that customers know and love risks disappearing from your shelves altogether,” the letter reads. Current policy to protect farmers is also “completely inadequate and rarely enforced”.
A petition calling for the government to reform the grocery supply code of practice has already been signed by almost 5,000 people. The petition calls for the code to apply three simple rules to supermarkets: buy what they agreed to buy; pay what they agreed to pay; and pay on time.
Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium defended his members and said there had been a “misunderstanding of the positive role supermarkets have played in supporting farmers”. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today programme he explained how supermarkets have been trying to support farmers whilst giving consumers the best price – and “that is a difficult equation”.
He also said supplier relationships are “highly regulated” but this often covered the relationship between supermarkets and processors rather than direct relationships with farmers. He also noted that produce also goes to restaurants and hospitality businesses and not just supermarkets.
One local authority sustainable food procurement lead said on social media: “What are we doing to our farmers? Why doesn’t the government want our island to grow its own food? We need farmers. We need fruit and veg.”
Some large food businesses have faced accusations of profiteering by being slow to pass on falling input costs to customers.
Wicked Leeks, the website and magazine run by Riverford, last week warned that pressure is building on supermarkets and the government to find a way to balance rising costs, food prices and food security after multiple reports of UK farmers giving up in berries, apples, eggs and dairy.
Earlier this month the Food Ethics Council warned that dairy farmers are being “pushed onto a treadmill of intensification”. Writing for Wicked Leeks, Abi Williams, project lead for the FEC’s dairy project, said: “Data is yet to be published, but we have also heard concerns that some organic dairy farmers are either quitting altogether or converting back to conventional dairy systems.”
In August, MPs on the Environment, food and rural affairs committee (Efra) claimed the government has an “incoherent approach” to food policy with ministers not taking food security “anywhere near seriously enough”.
