A day after competition bosses told the government to “keep faith” with the Groceries Code Adjudicator, farming groups and campaigners have told MPs the system is “not fit for purpose”.
Food businesses and farming campaigners met a group of MPs and peers at the House of Commons yesterday. They discussed calls for a single, central regulator to protect farmers and ensure fair treatment by supermarkets.
The roundtable, the culmination of veg box company Riverford Organic Farmers’ #GetFairAboutFarming campaign, focused on the alleged imbalance of power between supermarkets and British farmers. The campaigners had called for reform in the supply chain, including a big shake-up of the Adjudicator.
Campaigners said that two years on from Riverford’s launch of the campaign, farmers and growers in the UK were still being forced to accept late payments and order cancellations without notice.
Nearly 30 MPs have signed up to an Early Day Motion that proposes merging the existing supply chain watchdogs: the GCA, which sits under the Department for Business & Trade, and operates separately to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, which reports to Defra.
However, earlier this week the Competition & Markets Authority urged the government to keep faith with the GCA, telling ministers the supermarket watchdog was providing a “valuable and trusted” service.
Responding to the DBT’s statutory review of the GCA, launched in May, it said the Adjudicator “continues to have sufficient and appropriate powers to enforce compliance with the code effectively”.
“For too long, supermarkets have been left unchecked,” said Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford Organic Farmers.
“British farmers are faced with last-minute cancellations, delayed payments, and rock-bottom prices. Riverford’s Get Fair About Farming campaign revealed 67% of farmers fear being delisted if they speak out, and three-quarters say supermarket behaviour is their biggest concern.
“I urge MPs to stand with farmers and call on the government to create a single, central watchdog with real teeth, and that is strong enough to hold supermarkets to account, help to rebalance the system, and give farmers the security to farm well rather than worry whether they’ll be paid.”
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