Join the Fair Farming Campaign (proper prices!)
Get Fair about Farming is a campaign began, after learning that 75% of fruit and veg farmers are scared they may fold within a year, citing supermarkets as the main cause.
The founder has written an open letter to the big six supermarkets, asking supermarkets to:
- Pay on time (not up to 12 weeks, illegal in the rest of Europe)
- Not wiggle out of contracts.
- Pay what is agreed. One farmer grew 60 tonnes of salad potatoes, then was told they were no longer needed, leaving him ‘financially screwed’.
The price of supermarket apples has gone up 17% (yet the cost of growing them is far more, yet farmers see little extra payment). This also means more will be imported, bad for our endangered orchards, bad for farmers and bad for the planet.
67% of small farmers are too scared to speak out, in case they lose contracts.
The campaign is asking for people to write to their MPs, to back the campaign for a new proposal in Parliament, which calls for a single, strong independent regulator, to ensure fairness across the entire food supply chain, from farmers to retailers.
At present, the regulatory system is split across two government departments, with little power to hold supermarkets to account.
The Fair Farming Charter
- Buy what you committed to buy.
- Pay on time.
- Commit for the long term.
- Agree on fair specifications
- Pay what you agreed to pay.
Fair Farming Survey Results
A survey was conducted with Riverford anonymously, showing the results of horticultural farmers who have traded with supermarkets in the last 5 years:
99% had been forced to accept one of the follow conditions:
- Being offered lower prices due to unreasonable demands on colour, size or shape
- Late payments and cancelled orders
- No notice for changed terms
- Unfair pricing
Over half of those surveyed said they did not believe the government treated them as important enough, and expected their family farms to go out of business, within the next generation. With half saying they did not expect their farms to survive the next 2 years.
Top concerns of farmers at present were:
- Freak weather causing crop failures
- Risks in future government support
- Being dependent on supermarkets for income
- Supermarket behaviour (more than rising costs)
- Receiving cancelled orders from supermarkets
It’s interesting that this survey was done before the hash of the government’s budget, which led to a massive u-turn after farmers were descending on London in tractors to peacefully protest.
