Retail body snubs farm assurance monitoring review

A report monitoring the progress made on improving farm assurance across the UK has struggled to gather input from major supermarkets, with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) refusing to participate.

The new research explores how organisations across the food supply chain have responded to the recommendations made in the original UK Farm Assurance Review (UKFAR), published in January 2025.

Just three individual retailers – Lidl, M&S and Morrisons – submitted their own responses to the review.

Sainsbury’s only noted interaction was to reject the idea of paying farmers a premium for environmental reporting above the legal baseline, saying businesses in any supply chain should be aiming to improve sustainability because it drives resilience.

According to evidence from Red Tractor, some retailers have been reluctant to engage, viewing the UKFAR process as “a distraction and not a priority.”

The report said:

“It was disappointing to see that the BRC would not engage in the review to help address various improvements to the [Red Tractor] scheme where it could play a key role.

“It is hoped that, seeing the work now in progress, the BRC might wish to engage, even at this late stage.

“Once again, the door remains open to its participation in helping to deliver a renewed approach to farm assurance that will support, equally, all parts of the agri-food system.”

Three of the four UK governments also failed to provide substantive responses or progress updates on the recommendations – with the Welsh government the sole exception.

Despite the limited engagement from retailers and governments, the review highlighted progress among assurance schemes themselves.

Several have begun implementing UKFAR’s recommendations at varying speeds and priorities, including new measures to reduce the mental health burden of audits on farmers.

The report noted the importance of these efforts, particularly in light of Farmers Weekly’s Level The Field research which showed high levels of neurodiversity in the industry.  

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, said: “We didn’t have anything additional to add to the ongoing review and knew our resources would more effectively help farming through our continued support for AFS and lobbying government to prioritise increasing UK farm production in its new food strategy.”