UK Farm Assurance Review calls for evidence from farmers

An investigation into existing UK farm assurance schemes is appealing to British farmers to share their views on such programmes.

The commissioners of the UK Farm Assurance Review ­– a project set up by the UK farming unions and AHDB to assess current UK farm assurance schemes – have launched an online survey for UK farmers from any sector to complete.

Completion of the survey will help provide evidence for the review and will assist in the development of its recommendations, lead commissioner David Llewellyn said.

The survey, which takes 10-15 minutes to complete, can be found at: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/promaraf-2021/the-uk-farm-assurance-review.

“We are seeking views, in a variety of ways, across the UK agri-food industry, but this is your chance to tell us your experiences of farm assurance so that we hear directly from the farming community,” Llewellyn said.

“We are really looking forward to the participation in this survey of as many farmers as possible, as part of their contribution to this important review.”

The survey launch marks the next step in a comprehensive independent evaluation of the UK’s farm assurance schemes, which will focus on repurposing UK farm assurance for a post-Brexit world.

The independent review of the UK Farm Assurance System is planned to report at the end of this year.

Llewellyn, former vice chancellor of Harper Adams University, added: “Our evidence gathering will also involve direct engagement by the Commissioners with other key stakeholders. By responding directly to the Commissioners and not to the sponsors of the review, we intend to ensure that our work will be both independent and transparent and that we can hear from a wide cross section of stakeholders in farm assurance systems from across the UK.”

In addition to Llewellyn, the other commissioners appointed to lead this review are: James Withers – former chief executive officer of Scotland Food and Drink; Mark Suthern – chair of trustees of the Farming Community Network (FCN); Katrina Wiliams - a former civil servant holding positions in Defra, the Scottish Government and as part of the UK Permanent Delegation to the European Commission.