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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/29/groceries-code-adjudicator-deserves-more-power
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| Groceries code adjudicator deserves more power | Groceries code adjudicator deserves more power |
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| Farmers at home and those in developing countries are waiting with bated breath for the government to rule on expanding the role of the groceries code adjudicator, Christine Tacon. Ms Tacon has wielded her ombudsman role to impose sanctions on supermarkets for failures to play fair with suppliers – and her firm hand is bringing results. But many farmers growing food for our tables still fall foul of unfair practice. | Farmers at home and those in developing countries are waiting with bated breath for the government to rule on expanding the role of the groceries code adjudicator, Christine Tacon. Ms Tacon has wielded her ombudsman role to impose sanctions on supermarkets for failures to play fair with suppliers – and her firm hand is bringing results. But many farmers growing food for our tables still fall foul of unfair practice. |
| Late cancellations to orders – the equivalent of ordering a meal only to walk out as it arrives at the table – leave piles of unwanted fruit and veg rotting on compost heaps instead of filling our shopping baskets. Ahead of the government’s call for evidence we interviewed banana farmers who received late order changes four weeks out of five, leading to additional costs in an industry notorious for tight margins and difficult working conditions. Late payments also cost farmers money. One group of UK dairy farmers has found itself out of pocket by up to £14,000 per farm since 2015 because of a two-week delay to payments imposed on them by their milk purchaser. | Late cancellations to orders – the equivalent of ordering a meal only to walk out as it arrives at the table – leave piles of unwanted fruit and veg rotting on compost heaps instead of filling our shopping baskets. Ahead of the government’s call for evidence we interviewed banana farmers who received late order changes four weeks out of five, leading to additional costs in an industry notorious for tight margins and difficult working conditions. Late payments also cost farmers money. One group of UK dairy farmers has found itself out of pocket by up to £14,000 per farm since 2015 because of a two-week delay to payments imposed on them by their milk purchaser. |
| These situations should draw the gaze of Tacon, but do not because her current mandate does not extend beyond the immediate supplier to the supermarket. The majority of farmers in the UK and abroad sell to supermarkets via an intermediary, and so don’t have the right to complain. This isn’t a purely altruistic argument. | These situations should draw the gaze of Tacon, but do not because her current mandate does not extend beyond the immediate supplier to the supermarket. The majority of farmers in the UK and abroad sell to supermarkets via an intermediary, and so don’t have the right to complain. This isn’t a purely altruistic argument. |
| As the volatile British weather and recent hurricanes in the Caribbean show, our food supply faces new and increasing risks. If we want food on our shelves at affordable prices in the future, farmers will need to spend their money protecting their crops from extreme weather, not buffering costs arising from unfair trading. An extended remit sounds costly – but the adjudicator’s work is not funded by the government, but by charging supermarkets who misbehave. Extending the remit is surely a no-cost no-brainer. | As the volatile British weather and recent hurricanes in the Caribbean show, our food supply faces new and increasing risks. If we want food on our shelves at affordable prices in the future, farmers will need to spend their money protecting their crops from extreme weather, not buffering costs arising from unfair trading. An extended remit sounds costly – but the adjudicator’s work is not funded by the government, but by charging supermarkets who misbehave. Extending the remit is surely a no-cost no-brainer. |
| Kerry McCarthy MP, Lindsey Macdonald NFU Scotland, Tim Aldred Fairtrade Foundation, Tom Wills Traidcraft, Clare Oxborrow Friends of the Earth, George Dunn Tenant Farmers Association and Tenant Farmers Association Cymru, John Breach British Independent Fruit Growers’ Association, Vicki Hird Sustain, Daniel Crossley Food Ethics Council, Heather Webb Ethical Consumer, Carina Millstone Feedback, Catherine Richardson Think Global, Dr Courtney Scott The Food Foundation | Kerry McCarthy MP, Lindsey Macdonald NFU Scotland, Tim Aldred Fairtrade Foundation, Tom Wills Traidcraft, Clare Oxborrow Friends of the Earth, George Dunn Tenant Farmers Association and Tenant Farmers Association Cymru, John Breach British Independent Fruit Growers’ Association, Vicki Hird Sustain, Daniel Crossley Food Ethics Council, Heather Webb Ethical Consumer, Carina Millstone Feedback, Catherine Richardson Think Global, Dr Courtney Scott The Food Foundation |
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