That John Hall had just taken possession of arguably the toughest job in UK horticulture could not have been better highlighted than by his swift resignation.
The new chairman of the shadow levy board for horticulture will take on, as Hall did, the challenge of trying to convince a sceptical industry that the seismic changes happening to the levy structure are, in fact, a positive thing, and not the unnecessary tinkering that many have perceived it to be.
Hall is, according to virtually everybody you speak to, an extremely likeable man. He is also a polished communicator, and was happy to spend two hours discussing with Commercial Grower his hopes for the new structure and how he intended to win over the sceptics.
These are still early days for the levy restructure, with the advertisements having only gone out last week for the sector board members. The new horticulture board will comprise up to 15 members, including two independents. Hall made a point of urging anyone with an interest in the future of horticulture to consider applying. The closing date is May 21, with interviews to take place third week of June. Board members will be paid £250 on a day rate basis.
The independents will be interviewed separately by some of the independent board members from the UK levy boards, and will be asked which sector they have a preference for. “For the independents, we are looking for people with expertise in other areas - supply chain, human resources, retailers. We are looking for senior people who can bring some expertise over and above what we can provide,” Hall explained.
As to what sort of individuals with sector experience would be sought, Hall said: “In the ideal world we would have a strong representation from the old board for continuity, a good number of new people, as wide a sector spread as we can get, and ideally a geographical spread and expertise. I’m a passionate believer that we can get as good a cross section that reflects what the real industry looks like out there, and I’d be the first to recognise that it is made up of very small one-man bands, massive corporate units and everything in between.”
Hall explained that when the shadow board gains full control in April next year, it will have had enough time to ensure a smooth transition, likening the handover to a relay race. “The old council is running at the moment, we are starting to get up to speed so by the time we get to April we come along and take the baton. Our job is not to arrive and knock everything down and start afresh. It’s all about getting as seamless a handover as possible, to give confidence to the levy payers, the staff and the R&D community that we are doing things professionally, seamlessly. That’s why it’s set up the way it is.”
The first meeting of the new board is likely to take place in July, with a sporadic number of meetings throughout the rest of the year.
Hall professed complete faith when we spoke that the new system will offer something positive for growers. He is, in any case, a confirmed believer in the levy structure, and suggested that if anyone thinks there is a lot of opposition now, they would do well to cast their minds back to the furore when the idea of a compulsory levy was introduced 20 years ago.
“I’m very proud of what we set up 20 years ago, and I’ve been delighted to see how well my colleagues have taken it forward and developed it,” he said. “The crop panels are the backbone of the HDC, and it’s great to see them working in that way.”
All of which is why so many people are against the changes. Hall is sympathetic towards this point of view, and repeatedly stressed how well he believes the HDC has been run and how it has been efficient and served growers well.
“We are where we are,” he said pragmatically. “There is no doubt that the size, scale and role of Defra is being reduced considerably. Government funded R&D in the agriculture and horticulture sector has - ever since I can remember - been reduced year on year. Whether we agree with it or not, this is where we are, and so it’s hardly surprising that the UK Levy Board has come about.”
Hall insisted that the fact that horticulture will be sitting side by side with its agricultural compatriots is a positive thing. “We will be sitting with like-minded people, facing the same way. We are all totally reliant on satisfying our levy payers.”
Concerns over research and development funding cuts are central to the fears of those who oppose the changes, but Hall was absolutely adamant that this will not be the case. “The first thing I can assure everybody about is that it has been stated, confirmed, reaffirmed and repeated, that all specific sector levy income belongs to those specific sector boards. There is no question about that,” he insisted.
Speaking of costs, Hall was keen to point out that all of the initial start-up costs up until April 2008 - be it expendure on recruitment, salaries to board members, the Accenture report, location costs etc - will be absorbed by Defra, with nothing to come from levy monies before that time. Beyond that, Hall assured growers that there would be no major changes without a full business case being made and being accepted by the new board.
Hall said there are two main areas related to costs: the back office costs and services, and the collaboration on R&D. There is still the issue of a new name for the sector board, but that will not be decided upon until the new board is in place. It is a similar story over where the new levy bodies will be based, with only preliminary discussions having taken place at this stage.
Hall reckoned that all the sectors ought to be able to work together to produce some efficiency savings on administration and so on. “We are trying to create the best model possible for a levy board,” he said.
And on R&D Hall had this to say: “I don’t think anyone would be surprised that there will be some common areas of concern, be it environmental issues, climate change, carbon footprints, nitrates, energy, waste, recycling, composting and so on, where we could all work together across all sectors. By pooling resources we could maybe do a major R&D project that could really make a difference. But if we don’t want to put in our input then we can veto it.”
Numerous stories of late have also raised the possibility that the compulsory levy rate could rise by as much as 50 percent in the coming years, so what was Hall’s riposte to those who fear paying a lot more money for little discernible gain?
“It was just about trying to leave a bit of headroom so that no board would have to go back to parliament if it needed to make changes,” he stressed. “But if anyone thinks a levy board would be daft enough to put the levy up in the foreseeable future then they would be crazy. In five years time they could be voted out, so it would be counterproductive.”
Clearly, a tough job lies in wait for the new incumbent, but as Hall showed during his brief period in the role, there is a case to be made that the new structure could bring tangible benefits to levy payers. The idea is clearly not to take levy payers’ money and then cobble together a new system that give them less back for higher levies, but to drive efficiencies and benefit from inter-sector collaboration.
Horticulture is again on the lookout for a strong figure to represent it, and one that is well capable of winning the public relations battle in the early days.
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