Negotiating the future of agriculture outside the European Union will demand industry-wide collaboration, the new chairman of the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has said.
Nick Major, who was recently elected to the position, said the farming and food sector had a “once in a generation opportunity to shape a new policy for a productive and sustainable business as the UK negotiates its exit from the European Union”, but warned that it has never been “more critical for trade associations and representative organisations to have the support of the sectors they serve”.
He added: “Quite simply, the more businesses we [the AIC] represent, the more seriously we will be listened to by those devising the new policies.
“Within AIC we have skills critical to those shaping our future. Day in, day out we handle trade sales in the UK and across the world, we will do all we can to assist.”
Major assumes the AIC chairmanship at a crucial juncture for UK agriculture, following June’s Brexit vote and Theresa May’s announcement at the weekend that Article 50 would be triggered by March 2017.
But the new head is not new to the organisation, having been elected vice chair in October 2015 and serving on its Feed Sector Executive for a number of years.
He also serves on a number of national and European industry organisations, including the UK livestock innovation centre CIELivestock.
Major praised the AIC’s outgoing chairman Jon Duffy, under whose chairmanship the body launched its major research work, Threats and Opportunities, which was unveiled in the Houses of Parliament last year.
The study assessed the threats and opportunities in food production and highlighted to policy makers in food, farming and environmental areas the vital need to dispense with single issue policy making.
The AIC trade association, which has over 300 members, represents a number of sectors within the agrisupply sector, including animal feed, crop protection and agronomy, fertilisers, grain and oilseeds and seed.
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