Riverford founder Guy Singh-Watson says there is “huge dissatisfaction” with the government's agricultural policies in rural areas. Photo: Stuart Everitt
The Tories have wasted farmers' votes, says the head of Riverford Organics.
Guy Singh-Watson, founder and chief executive of Riverford, said there was a “huge amount of anger and frustration”. in rural areas over government rural policy.
Farmers have had to cope with rising inflation and shocks associated with the transition from EU subsidies to new green incentives in England known as environmental land management (ELM) schemes. The process has been plagued by delays and confusion.
Mr Singh-Watson criticized the Government's handling of the scheme. He said: “Let's remember, it was just over 12 months ago when Liz Truss was talking about breaking up [ELM].”
“What the hell are we supposed to do? What's the next turn?
Founded in 1987, Riverford Organics, headquartered in Devon, supplies 65,000 households with fruit and vegetables from its own organic farms and other producers across the UK. Sales last year were a record £110 million.
Singh-Watson's criticism comes days after the Conservatives' historic rout in the Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire by-elections.
Defeats in relatively safe positions have led experts to warn that the Tories can no longer rely on traditional strongholds.
Farmers and rural communities have long been considered the core of Conservative support, but that support has eroded in recent years as financial pressure on food producers has increased.
< p >A Farmers Weekly poll late last year found that just 42% of farmers would vote Tory in a general election. That's the lowest amount ever, down from 71 percent in 2020.
Singh-Watson, 63, said: “I don't think you'll find a farmer who has defended [his record]. A huge amount of anger and frustration is probably reflected in no small measure in the fishing industry.”
Earlier this year, Jeremy Clarkson summed up the frustrations of rural residents by saying farming had become “very much about filling out forms”.
Mr Singh-Watson said he believed ministers 'sold agriculture by the swan' with post-Brexit trade deals that undermine British producers.
He said: “I remember Michael Gove saying categorically at the Oxford Agricultural Conference that farmers did not need to worry about foreign trade deals and that import standards would be the same as for UK production.”
” Now we can import eggs from Mexico without any restrictions on how they are produced at all. They compete directly with British eggs.”
Rural communities have long been seen as the core of Conservative support, but support has eroded in recent years. Photo: Stuart Everitt
Lizzie Hacking, a Tory councilor and chair of the Conservative Rural Forum, said a group of MPs had been pushing for their support. to ensure rural issues are brought “to the forefront” ahead of the next election to win support.
She said: “They recognize that the polls have not necessarily been what they have been historically and are trying to correct that. The implementation of ELM has caused some disappointment, and rightfully so. I think the party realizes that everything did not go as smoothly as it could have.”
Beyond the ELM, Mr Singh-Watson highlighted the government's lack of support for farmers in dealing with supermarkets.
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In the past, shortages of vegetables in supermarkets have been blamed on bad weather affecting crops. But Mr Singh-Watson said pressure from supermarkets to keep prices low left the country vulnerable to further supply problems.
He said: “Prices are falling and falling and falling… farmers are getting a smaller and smaller share of the final retail price.”
“What usually happens in negotiations is that the supplier ends up being reduced to something that is only marginally greater than their variable costs of production—seed, labor, fertilizer, packaging—with little or nothing left to reinvest in farm infrastructure.”Riverford has launched a campaign called 'Treat Farming Fairly', calling on the Government to intervene and reform the Food Industry Code of Practice, which dictates how retailers treat their suppliers. The petition has now been signed by more than 67,000 people.
An open letter accusing supermarkets of “wasteful” practices has been signed by celebrities. including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Photo: Jeff Gilbert
Mr Singh-Watson said: “If you go to Holland and meet the producers, they will be confident about their long-term future. They will build a greenhouse that will not pay for itself in their lifetime, and perhaps even in the lifetime of their children.
“No one will do this if there is no confidence in the future. And it will depend both on government policy and on the behavior of [supermarket] shoppers, so we've just been hit with a double whammy in this country.”
In an open letter to Tesco bosses, Asda, Sainsbury's , Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl, Riverford accused the supermarkets of “unbalanced, short-term and wasteful” practices that have left UK farmers “struggling to survive”.
It was signed by celebrities including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Julia Bradbury and Ray Mears.
Mr Singh-Watson said: “It is clear that supermarkets have made bloody fortunes during Covid and pandemics. post-Covid period.”
Supermarkets have repeatedly faced accusations of profiteering during the cost of living crisis, when prices rose. However, the competition & Markets Authority (CMA) in July, citing falling supermarket profitability.
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