Lack of fruit and veg support set to damage food security

Failure to extend or replace the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme from the end of this year will jeopardise food security and lead to lost jobs, according to a group of 51 Conservative MPs.

The warning is contained in letter to Defra secretary Emma Reynolds seeking urgent clarification on what alternative scheme, if any, is being considered by Defra.

See also: Growers launch association to save UK fruit and veg sector

The Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme was first introduced in 1997, and is seen as a key factor behind the steady expansion of certain fruit and veg crops.

In recent times, the scheme provided £40m a year in matched funding for 32 Producer Organisations (POs), to support innovation and collaboration, and help market products.

However, while the previous Conservative administration was drawing up plans to replace the scheme with a post-Brexit upgrade, earlier this year the Labour government said it plans to scrap it on 31 December 2025.

LIttle communication

Since then, there has been very little communication between Defra and the horticultural sector about what happens next.

The letter from MPs, led by shadow Defra secretary Victoria Atkins, claims the previous government’s plan would have doubled funding to £80m, including £10m to help orchard growers access equipment and up to £50m for packhouse automation.

“Instead of matching this ambition, the new government has remained silent on its plans for the sector, jeopardising local food production, thousands of jobs and our food security,” it said.

Specifically, the MPs want to know if an alternative scheme is in the offing and how much it might be worth.

If not, then they are calling for a one-year extension to avoid a “cliff edge” in support and avoid an unfair playing field “due to growers in Scotland and Northern Ireland being able to access funding while growers in England and Wales receive no support”.

Long period of silence

British Growers director Jack Ward said there had been a long period of silence after Defra first announced the scheme was going to close.

“Our understanding now is that Producer Organisations are still going to have to operate as POs, as any assets funded under the scheme in the past are technically owned by both producers and the government until depreciation is complete over a five-year period,” he said.

“As such, the POs will still have to submit all the paperwork, but there is no money for it.

“For some, the administration is quite a complicated and costly job – and there are penalties for getting it wrong.”

Mr Ward said that, with a new team at Defra, there was an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start again.

But Defra has indicated that any extension of existing programme is off the table and, as an EU legacy scheme, it will not be continuing this model of support. 

Closures pending

Patrick  Bastow, chairman of the UK Fruit and Vegetable Association, warned that some POs are considering closing altogether, and are unable to commit to future investment, without knowing what support will be in place.

“Decades of progress in collaboration, innovation and sustainability risk being undone if an alternative or replacement scheme is not urgently confirmed,” he said.

A Defra spokesman said: “This government is backing farmers with the largest nature-friendly budget in history to grow their businesses, get more British food on our plates and help restore nature.”