Leaders of the road haulage, horticulture, tourism and food sectors will join an online debate next week in an attempt to identify solutions to the farm labour crisis.
The event, called by NFU Scotland’s (NFUS) east central region, comes as severe shortages of both seasonal and permanent staff are impacting on agriculture as well as the food and drink, logistics, hospitality and tourism sectors.
On the panel on Thursday September 30 will be Scottish Food and Drink chief executive James Withers, NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy, Martin Reid, the director of the Road Haulage Association, Marc Crothall of the Scottish Tourism Alliance and Ali Capper, an apple and hops farmer from Worcester who is the NFU’s horticulture chair
The meeting will be chaired by Caroline Millar who runs an agritourism business on the family farm on the outskirts of Dundee.
The meeting follows an emergency summit held by the NFU in England, convened to find solutions to the immediate challenges facing the entire UK supply chain, on the shortage of labour, fertiliser and reduced access to CO2.
Following the meeting, NFU president Minette Batters said the farming industry had done a fantastic job in keeping shelves stocked, but needed the government to demonstrate the value of UK food production.
She said: “At Back British Farming Day we repeated our ask for government to place the same value on British food and its production standards as the British people do. We are currently 60% self-sufficient in food and our current situation demonstrates the need for strategic policies that bolster domestic food production.
“Food shortages are a clear and present danger which ministers must work urgently with the whole supply chain to avoid.”
To register for the NFUS meeting visit
https://nfuscotlandlabourcrisisevent.eventbrite.co.uk
and for more information contact Kate Maitland NFUS regional manager on 0791 900 1239 or kate.maitland@nfus.org.uk