POTATOLEVYINCREASEMAKES SOUND SENSE & SHOULDBEAPPLAUDED
POTATOLEVYINCREASEMAKES SOUND SENSE & SHOULDBEAPPLAUDED
Price rises are always painful. Never more so than when the industry is in deep recession. For many hard-pressed producers they can seem like the final straw.
That may be the response of some potato growers to the British Potato Councils calls for a 9.5% levy rise. If only growers could demand similar price rises.
Without the important work of this increasingly effective organisation would growers profits be any better? Probably not. Could profits be worse? Almost certainly. BPCs decision to seek a £3.50/ha levy rise to £40/ha is brave in these difficult times.
But lets not forget that this is the first rise for three years, representing an annual increase of little more than 3%.
Sniping at levy bodies when farm profits are slim or non-existent is tempting. Cutting the cost to benefit the bottom line could be difficult to resist. But can potato growers deny that they will achieve the 80p/t return needed to offset the cost of the levy on a typical 50t/ha crop?
Variety evaluation, improved industry husbandry, industry events and market information all help to lift crop income. Marketing initiatives such as Chip Week and Kids-go-for-free, early and maincrop campaigns help spur demand for potato producers output.
Criticisms that the BPC is over-staffed and over-paid are unjustified. Inflation means its £6.5m/year budget is now worth £1.5m less than it was in 1997 and a 10,000ha drop in plantings has cut income by a further £350,000.
But radical restructuring means it provides a better service than ever. Three-quarters of spending now goes to services aimed at growers compared with 69% four years ago.
Instead of a slap in the face the BPC needs a pat on the back.
If other levy bodies adopted its aggressive attitude to cost control, targeted spending and worthwhile promotion, the farming industry would be far better off.