AHDB levy board boss stands ready for changes

Levy board boss Nicholas Saphir says he stands ready to implement government recommendations that will give farmers more say on how their money is spent.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) chairman – who took up the post at the beginning of April – made the comments after Defra finally published its long-awaited response to an 18-month review into the levy board’s funding and activities.

The government says there is strong support for statutory levies to continue.

But it says a ballot of levy payers every five years could provide the farming industry with greater ownership and a bigger say in the future direction of the AHDB.

See also: Analysis: What we’ve learned from government review of the AHDB

Under the proposals, levy payers in each agricultural sector would vote on a five-year AHDB programme encompassing both sector-specific activity as well as broader activity across the wider agricultural industry.

Mr Saphir said the AHDB had a significant role to play in meeting the challenges faced by farmers – and he was prepared for the government’s recommendations when he took on the job.

“No-one would have asked me to do it without telling me roughly what was in the response.”

Spend on marketing

The review confirmed strong support among levy payers for more market development, export development and research.

Beef and lamb producers, in particular, were keen for more money to be spent on marketing, while growers were less concerned.

Mr Saphir suggested he agreed with that view, but he also cautioned against overly-simplistic promotional campaigns.

“I think that’s true, but I think we have to be cleverer than just saying please buy British,” he explained.

“It’s not a very productive way of going about actually making things happen.

“We have to make sure that the products we put on the counter are what consumers want and it’s very high in my priorities to get our products on the counter at the right price, both here and overseas.”

The AHDB has long faced calls to be more accountable to levy payers and take on board more of their views.

But Mr Saphir rejected suggestions by the Tenant Farmer Association that the levy board needed a significant shake-up to be fit for purpose.

It was not a good description, he said. The organisation had to adapt to the challenges it faced – but so too did everyone in UK agriculture.

“I have been incredibly impressed by the skills and the work that is going on. I think that maybe we haven’t communicated that in full.”

Defra minister Victoria Prentis has asked her officials and representatives from the devolved administrations to scope out the idea of a five-year ballot further.