Supermarkets ‘not backing’ local producers

Retailers should do more to support farmers by increasing the amount of local food they stock on their shelves, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England. 

Speaking during a fringe event at the Liberal Democrats party conference in Birmingham, CPRE policy and campaigns director Neil Sindon criticised supermarkets for not doing enough to back local producers. 

Mr Sindon told delegates, at the event on boosting local food production, that only 1-3% of big supermarket stock was “local” and farmers were not being encouraged to promote the regional aspect of their produce. 

“The evidence seems to show that there are very few of the big multiples looking to promote local food,” he said. 

Mr Sindon added that the government needed to take a lead in promoting local food chains and recognise the benefits that locally sourced produce brought. 

“It increases the quality of the food, provides a tangible connection to the land, boosts the economy and provides jobs,” he added. 

Roger Williams MP and former member of the cross party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee, agreed farmers could reap the benefits of doing more to promote the local element of their food. 

Criticising EU rules which he claimed had broken down localism in the past, he added: “Farmers have been encouraged to create food and do nothing with it”. 

Allan Edwards, Asda’s director of public affairs, said while the retailer was working hard to back local produce in its stores, there needed to be an acceptance that not everything could be produced in the UK. 

He said the retailer was trying to partner local producers where it could and had set itself a challenge to support small businesses through initiatives like shorter payment periods.  “What we really need is DEFRA to define what “local” really is,” he added. 

“Some say local is county, but in Wales and Scotland it can mean Wales or Scotland.”  A definition would help cut confusion and help farmers promote their produce more effectively, he said.

• What’s your view? Comment on our forum ‘Do rural MPs fit the bill?’