Slavery advert is a ‘slight’ to industry

A hard-hitting Modern Slavery television campaign is a “real slight” to the horticulture and agricultural sectors, according to the NFU.

Speaking yesterday (15 October) at the National Fruit Show, in Kent, NFU regional director William White said the union has written to the Home Office about the unfair prominence given to fresh produce in the advertising campaign.

“Only three per cent of cases are for the agricultural sector. Why are we such a big part of their advertising campaign?”

White said he has had “no end of growers” complaining to him that the advert puts the fresh produce industry in a bad light, and damages the industry’s reputation.

In the nationally broadcast advert there are two clips that could be linked to fresh produce: a group of men sleeping in cramped surroundings before being woken by a gangmaster, and a shot of the men being driven through a field of produce with the voiceover “slavery is closer than you think.”

Aimed at encouraging the public to report signs of slavery by ringing a new national helpline, the advert is part of a major Home Office campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery in the UK. It is described as the first of its kind in this country and is due to run until October.

Reach out to consumers

White also urged the industry to communicate to consumers on Twitter and Facebook, rather than just talking to others in the fresh produce business.

“We need to be talking to consumers on social media. At the moment there is a lot of talking among ourselves,” he said.

He was speaking at a talk entitled ‘growing the conditions of success’ in session one of the seminar programme at the National Fruit Show at the Kent Showground.

In a wide-ranging summary of the challenges facing fresh produce, and in particular the top fruit infustry, White commented on the potential for GM technologies in the UK, reform to water abstraction regulations and the need to harmonise EU and UK pesticide regulations.

“The impact of the abolishment of Saws has gone quiet recently,” he said. “But labour may rival weather as the biggest challenge to growers in the future. The mid-term prognosis on Saws is not good, and this is when we will renew discussions on it.”