The Potato Council Limited is urging the sector to make the most of the opportunities offered by its new levy board structure.
The renamed body, formerly the British Potato Council (BPC), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), which took over from the BPC earlier this month.
The 14-strong board intends to find out what the priorities are for the sector, and what should be addressed by the new levy board structure.
The business plan for the next 12 months has already been put in place, to maintain the same standards of research and marketing activities.
Acting chairman Dennis Heywood, who was appointed following the resignation of Janet Bainbridge, said: “The BPC did a good job, so the first priority for Potato Council staff is to continue to work with levy-payers to deliver the activities and services they value.
“Levy collection will be unchanged - all funds collected from the potato industry are ring-fenced and will be spent within the potato sector,” he added.
The board is keen to maximise opportunities for the sector to work together and, over the next three months, all board members will be seeking out views from at least 10 per cent of levy-payers, face to face.
Heywood said: “We want to find out whether things should change - maybe we should be doing more in a specific area, or perhaps what is needed is a change of focus. We want to find out what the levy should deliver and what it could do in the future.”
The feedback will be collated and reported back to levy-payers in September. The findings will be used to inform business plans for the Potato Council from 2009 onwards, and help decide priorities for the potato sector at AHDB level.
“It’s been a guiding principal of the BPC to act on behalf of industry and therefore regular dialogue was critical, and continues to be a priority for Potato Council,” Heywood said. “The great advantage we have is that the sector is small enough to do this with relative ease, but large enough to have an important voice. It is a sector made up of bright and capable people and, though we understand that taking time to discuss the levy body is not always a priority, I would urge all those who have constructive views to make these known now so that we can ensure you get even better value for money from your levy.”
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