FARMERS in the grip of a brutal price slump aggravated by geopolitics beyond their control have been exhorted to "keep looking at the bigger, longer-term picture" and plan for a future when they will be able to compete on that same volatile world stage.
Speaking at theAgricultural Industries Confederation Conference, former English National Farmers Union president Peter Kendall, now chairman of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, explained his ambition to create a 'centre of excellence' to help UK agriculture become globally competitive. He said: "I know that talking about long-term ambition and farmers' potential to seize market opportunities does not sit comfortably with sectors in the grip of low prices, such as those cereals and dairy are experiencing now.
"The truth is, global market volatility is here to stay in the same way as the vagaries of the weather are. But we've got to keep looking at the bigger, long-term picture, at the opportunities provided by growing markets at home and overseas. Let's dare to ask how we can better compete for a share of these markets."
As well as pointing to UK success stories in soft fruit and, recently, in pig meat exports, Mr Kendall highlighted achievements of agricultural sectors in other countries. He stated the keys was in collaborative supply chain working, a focus on growth and exports, good links between education, research and knowledge exchange and strong, large-scale centres of excellence for agriculture.
He said. "Let's aim to be the envy of other countries and not be satisfied with sitting back and letting them take the lead. I want to work with the industry to ensure AHDB becomes that world-leading centre of excellence for UK agriculture working across the supply chain.
"With a new chief executive and a refreshed board in place by early 2015, I will be seeking debate about the activity AHDB should be focusing on to deliver as that centre of excellence."
Having moved its previously disparate staff into a single building at Stoneleigh agricultural centre, AHDB's "journey to becoming one organisation" was likely to progress with a rebranding, he added. Working together in one building, focused on delivering under one unified, and unifying, brand means we will be able to leverage the impressive AHDB cross- sector work that is being rolled out in areas such as soils, pest research, market intelligence, red meat exports and education.
"We've got to look, feel and behave like one organisation if we're going to deliver as the UK's centre of excellence for agriculture," he said.
For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday's issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk
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