UK farmers were set five challenges by Defra secretary David Miliband at the Oxford Farming Conference on Wednesday.
He urged farmers to co-operate and consolidate, find added value, innovate, wake up to consumer demands and adopt greener farming techniques.
He held up as a business model KG Fruits, which started out with seven farmers and is now the biggest specialist soft-fruit co-operative in the UK.
Miliband added: “I applaud the actions of supermarkets like Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, which are developing long-term contracts, but equally, the industry needs to find ways to create more value.”
The event saw the launch of the Defra-funded Tomorrow’s Climate, Today’s Challenge scheme - a collaboration between environment charity Forum for the Future, the National Farmers’ Union, the Applied Research Forum, and the Country Land & Business Association - intended to highlight the economic opportunities and environmental issues caused by climate change.
NFU president Peter Kendall said the 12-month initiative will “look towards working with government and other organisations to find smart solutions.”
The drive for consumers to buy British was also on the agenda. Conservative leader David Cameron told delegates that clear labelling is needed to stir up “food patriotism” and help people opt for home-grown products. He said it was “completely wrong” that food “can be imported to Britain, processed here, and subsequently labelled in a way that suggests it is genuinely British”.
