I must confess to a degree of both surprise and scepticism when I read that the business development managers appointed through the scheme run by the London Food Board to help resuscitate grower links to wholesale markets in the capital has been extended for another year.

Not that there is anything wrong with the idea, except that the fresh produce industry has always been somewhat different to meat and fish wholesaling, so it will be interesting to see if it extends to composite markets.

Nevertheless, an extra £20 million in total has been added to market coffers, leading to the suggestion that such appointments might be rolled out nationwide.

If the plans go ahead, meeting the cost will be another issue, and probably one directed at local councils and city corporations, whose response might only be lukewarm because in the current economic climate every one of them is obviously strapped for cash and already making major cuts in their budgets.

Certainly, the markets themselves would welcome any extra business. Through no fault of their own, they have acquired a somewhat unfair reputation among buyers as dumping grounds for supermarket rejects, or at best a pressure valve turned on as a result of either overproduction or overordering.

Despite this, to their credit they have been remarkably resilient considering the changes in both retailing and distribution that have taken place over the last 30 years.

One reason for their survival has been the personal relations often extending back over generations, as well as the trust which still exists between grower and trader.

But at the same time, many provincial markets now house fewer tenants and in some cases the premises have become somewhat decrepit.

Just how an increase in custom can be converted into a sales pitch to benefit the whole is the major problem, unless the grand design is to turn these sites into total food markets, following the aspiration and increasingly successful aim of New Covent Garden Market.

To be effective, any wholesaling operation must not just be able to maintain a constant and varied supply source year round. It cannot just focus on UK horticulture, regardless of the enthusiasm of the NFU.

It will also be a hard slog to increase the number of independent retail buyers at a time when those remaining are struggling to stay in business. Spiralling rents and getting quality fruit and veg are not their only problems as there is competition from the multiple trade, which is also moving back with smaller units into the high street.

To be successful, what counts is increased profitability back at the farm gate - whether at home or abroad.