NFU Scotland has expressed its support for the work of the British Potato Council (BPC) which is currently undergoing it statutory five-year review.
Submitting its response to the Scottish Executive consultation on the future of the potato levy body, NFUS stressed that the BPC should be retained to continue its good work on behalf of the Scottish potato sector. NFUS rejected the other options of abolition, privatisation or contracting out of services, believing that none of these would necessarily deliver improvements in performance or reductions in cost.
NFUS recommended that the BPC’s remit be extended to allow it to seek approval for chemicals required by growers but which may no longer be available from commercial companies. The Horticultural Development Council (HDC) currently performs this function on behalf of its levy payers.
The Union’s potato-growing members do feel that there could be an improvement in market information and greater accountability to levy payers. NFUS also agreed with the Economic Evaluation that accompanied the consultation which highlighted that the cost of levy collection is too high and would support efforts to ensure all the BPC’s activities remain cost-effective.
Chairman of the NFUS Potato Working Group, Sandy Bayne, said: “The potato sector remains of great importance to Scottish agriculture and is worth over £110 million a year to the Scottish economy. Increasing specialisation at farm level has increased the importance of market information, promotion and research and development. The BPC performs all these functions and they are valued by Scottish growers.
“The loss of crop protection products simply because commercial companies do not seek their re-approval remains a concern in the potato industry. And it is a concern shared by other cropping sectors. For the horticulture sector, the HDC’s can seek approval for products itself; a role we believe should be given to the BPC.
“Companies may feel it is not financially worthwhile to seek re-approval of certain products or they may be keen to promote their own new products. The consequence is that some proven, effective products disappear from the market. Allowing the BPC to seek off label approval for chemicals would address this issue.
“During our discussions with growers, they highlighted the need for improvements in market information to ensure prices and volumes are fully representative. Likewise, we believe transparency in the Council activities could be enhanced by providing a greater role for representatives of grower organisations in its work.”
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