Grocery petition hits 100,000 and is considered for debate

A petition to protect farmers by reforming the Grocery Supply Code of Practice has surpassed 100,000 signatures, which could trigger a debate on the topic in parliament.

The proposal was put forward by Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford Organic Farmers, with the objective of making sure retailers buy what they agreed to buy from producers, pay what they agreed to pay, and pay on time.

It states in the petition that almost half of a panel of 100 UK fruit and veg farmers are concerned they will have to give up their farm within the next year.

See also: Video: British farming ‘on its knees’ – Riverford founder

Parliament will now consider this for a debate.

A Defra response to the petition was provided on 27 November, which said: “The government is committed to tackling contractual unfairness that can exist in the agri-food supply chain and Defra is working to support farmers and ensure they get a fair price for their products.

“At the UK Farm to Fork Summit held at Downing Street on 16 May, we announced a new review into fairness in the horticulture supply chain building on what we have already got under way to improve transparency and contracts in the pork and dairy markets.

“Beginning in December, we will launch a public consultation exploring these issues.”

The campaign is being supported by a number of food and farming groups, including the Soil Association, Sustain, and the Landworkers Alliance.

An open letter was also sent to the chief executives of six major UK supermarkets in September urging fairer treatment for suppliers, as many farmers say they are “on their knees”.