The National Farmers Union(NFU) has welcomed the launch of the new fruit and vegetable task force by the department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The task force was launched today (23 October 2009) by Secretary of State Hilary Benn. It aims to boost domestic consumption and production of fruit and vegetables in England.
NFU horticulture board chairman Sarah Pettitt said: “It makes sense to increase the domestic production of fruit and vegetables to satisfy the growing demand from consumers and so it’s right that the government has taken the lead in the creation of this task force. I look forward to working with the other parts of the supply chain and consumer representatives to ensure that the promise of the task force can be turned into action on the ground.
“A number of the key hurdles facing growers have already been identified, not least the importance of ensuring that there is production-focused research and development that will help us to produce more while impacting less. There are already positive moves in that direction and I hope that with this task force we can continue the momentum that has been created.
“For growers, one of the key issues is having the confidence to re-invest in their businesses for the long term. That confidence can only come from having a commitment from the whole supply chain in understanding the need for efficient growers to receive a sufficient return. This is a difficult issue to tackle but tackle it we must if we are to ensure that growers are going to be willing to step up production.”
