UK review calls for Farm Assurance ‘reset’.
The first UK-wide, comprehensive review of farm assurance has called for a fundamental reset of the system to rebuild confidence amongst farmers.
The review, established by the UK farming unions and the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), was conducted independently by four Commissioners and is published today.
It concludes that farm assurance is critical to the industry’s future, is delivering necessary assurances on quality to consumers but must make some fundamental changes to address growing frustration amongst farmers in how it is delivered.
The 9-month review collected evidence from every link in the UK food supply chain. The dissatisfaction expressed by farmers was not uniform across all sectors nor across all nations, notably with assurance schemes in devolved areas working more effectively than UK-wide schemes. The report is therefore nuanced in its approach, recognising where existing arrangements work well, but being clear where changes are essential.
To that end, the review makes nine strategic recommendations:
- On-farm audits must be reduced, simplified and delivered more consistently;
- There must be a transformational step forward in embracing technology;
- Schemes need to reset and/or restate their structures to establish farmers as the driving voice in standards development;
- A new industry-led initiative must set out the future environmental ambitions for farm assurance;
- The inclusion of regulatory requirements within farm assurance should be conditional on government agreeing a form of ‘earned recognition’;
- There must be greater collaboration between farm assurance schemes across the UK;
- Schemes must better position the UK farming industry in world food markets and in competition with imported food;
- All schemes must review and improve their communication with farmers;
- The Red Tractor scheme must complete the implementation of recommendations in the Campbell Tickell report on its governance.
Under these nine strategic recommendations, a total of 56 operational recommendations have also been made, with clear lead bodies and timescales.
The Commissioners also call on governments across the UK to take a more structured and active approach to the interaction between assurance schemes and regulation, recognising the benefits this will bring to the farming industry, as well as to consumers, and the potential it will have to contribute to the better understanding of the impact of post-Brexit farming policies.
Commenting on the report, Lead Commissioner, Dr David Llewellyn, said:
“The is the first fundamental look at UK farm assurance since it was established in the 1990s. So much has changed over the last 30 years and we know that further change is on the horizon for the farming industry. Farm assurance must be a critical part of that future. However, for that to happen, significant changes are needed to win back farmer confidence where it has been lost, to build on what already works well and to secure a competitive edge for UK farming on the world stage.
“We have undertaken considerable research and taken account of a wealth of evidence from every part of the UK food and farming supply chain. We found competing interests and ambitions for the farm assurance system. Over time, that has added complexity and stress for farmers, many of whom now struggle to identify any real benefits to their business. Worse still, many feel they live in a permanent state of jeopardy with ‘make or break’ audits determining whether their businesses can operate or not. The reality is that too many farmers feel farm assurance is ‘done to them’ rather than ‘delivered with them’. It should be better than this.
“The farmers we consulted want to produce to the highest standards and to be supported by assurance schemes in that endeavour. However, they also want to be appropriately compensated for the considerable effort required by the current farm assurance system.
“We recognise that the system is essential to provide assurance of high production standards. However, it must deliver for all parts of the food chain, including contributing to a process of continuous farming improvement, something the approach of the current assurance system does not always provide.
“Farm assurance has also evolved differently in different parts of the UK. Whilst there are improvements required for all assurance schemes, we believe there are lessons to be learned from devolved nations where schemes work better together and where they seem to have a more constructive relationship with farmers.
“Many of our recommendations will be challenging. They are about changes to organisational cultures and expectations, as much as they are about processes. But we view them as integral to building a farm assurance system that is trusted, successful and underpins a profitable future for UK farming.”
Issued by
The Commissioners
20th January 2025
Background
The independent review has been jointly commissioned by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and AHDB, along with NFU Cymru, The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and NFU Scotland (NFUS), who will all form part of the Assurance Review leadership group, which has overall responsibility for its delivery.
The industry-wide Assurance Review is focused on repurposing assurance in a post-Brexit world.
It aims to seek feedback from all farmers, crofters and growers about all farm assurance schemes with a view to revolutionising farm to fork assurance, making it truly fit for the future.
The review 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
Call for Evidence
The review will include the following processes:
- Snapshot of UK Farm Assurance Standards
- Articulate Sector Needs
- Call for the Views from Farmers
- Call for Views from the Supply Chain
To ensure a thorough review which is truly representative of UK Farm Assurance Standards, we very much welcome the submission of evidence from all stakeholders.
Farm Survey
The Farm Survey has now closed. We would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who responded to the survey, we have been very pleased with the number and quality of responses we have received. This data will now be analysed, and will feed into the review, and help to inform the conclusions and recommendations.
If you would like to contact us regarding the survey, please email: uk-farm-assurance-review@genusplc.com
Commissioners
The group have has appointed four commissioners who will be responsible for setting the terms of reference and a timeline to ensure the process provides clear outcomes to the industry. The commissioners appointed to undertake the review are:
- Dr David Llewellyn CBE (lead commissioner) – former Vice Chancellor of Harper Adams University
- James Withers – former Chief Executive Officer of Scotland Food and Drink
- Mark Suthern – Chairman of Trustees of the Farming Community Network (FCN)
- Katrina Williams – former Civil Servant in Policy making and shaping and implementation of legislation
The commission has reinforced the need for good industry engagement as well as transparency throughout this process and as such will be setting out detailed plans in the coming weeks. This will likely include face-to-face engagement at key industry events, a survey and a consultation process.
The commissioners will be supported by Promar International and Supply Chain InSites (SCI) within the review, ensuring transparency and independence.
About Promar International and SCI
Promar International is a leading agri food consulting firm with 140 staff working with UK and international farmers, farmer groups, food processors, retailers and foodservice operators as well as government organisations, trade associations and levy boards. Promar is subsidiary of Genus plc.
The SCI team have a long history in farm and food assurance and certification. They are accredited by UKAS to ISO17065 and have extensive experience with a wide range of schemes and certification bodies. More detailed information can be found here.
Contact
If you would like further information or discuss directly with us, then please contact: uk-farm-assurance-review@genusplc.com