There have been calls to “hammer home the message” that horticulture is a skilled industry after the Fruit and Vegetable Task Force last week made a plea for government to intervene to prevent dwindling youth employment.
In reacting to the task force’s report published last week, sector skills council Lantra called for a positive approach in tackling the challenges ahead.
Lantra’s David Winn said: “People are waking up to the challenges facing us in terms of security of food supplies. Lantra encourages the government’s commitment to driving up the numbers of apprenticeships and to developing the 14-19 Diploma in Environment and Land-based Studies.
“However, the industry will face an uphill struggle in recruiting the workforce of the future if information, advice and guidance agencies do not recognise the wide range of opportunities available in agriculture and horticulture… we must hammer home the message that farming and horticulture is a skilled profession with desirable qualifications - and stop allowing ours to be viewed as an industry that only offers second-rate careers.”
Elsewhere, the report evoked a widespread call for more to be done on the issue of healthy eating in the UK. The NFU called for a reduction in planning burdens by referencing food production in national planning policy and streamlining the planning process.
FPC ceo Nigel Jenney said: “We want to see that the fresh produce industry is not hampered by unnecessary regulatory burdens and has every opportunity to increase UK production and encourage greater consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.”
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