FARM NEWS 5
• OCT/NOV 2019
Insight into gaining and boosting trust in agriculture
RESPONSIBLE farming provides
a foundation for building trust
across the entire food chain, but
continuous improvement is vital to
maintain shopper support.
That’s according to a new report
which was unveiled yesterday at
AHDB’s second annual Consumer
Insight Conference in Warwick.
This brand-new research,
entitled ‘Trust, Transparency and
Traceability in Agriculture: The
Consumer Perspective’, gives
an in-depth look at the public’s
attitude and opinions on food and
farming in the UK.
It explores how engaged
consumers are with food produc-
tion issues, which elements of
the food system are most trusted
and where consumers get their
information.
Among the key findings is
the potential to provide clearer
on-pack labelling to improve
transparency, allow consum-
ers direct access to farms and
farmers to develop trust and
for industry to build emotional
connections with the public
whether it’s face-to-face or
through social media.
AHDB Senior Consumer Insight
Analyst and co-author of the
report Susie Stannard said the
findings show that most consum-
ers have a great deal of trust in
industry and farmers – but more
can be done to build on this.
She added: “Trust is an
extremely valuable commodity,
but it is fragile. Industry cannot
rest on its laurels; every effort
must be made to continue to inno-
vate and invest in new technology
and scientific research.
“As the industry applies new
learnings, as farming works to
become more efficient and
sustainable, we should not forget
that consumers are interested
in what we do. Being open and
transparent should help us in the
long run.”
The report also reveals that
environmental issues have grown
to rank among the most top-of-
mind concerns for consumers,
with more than 40 per cent
expressing concern. However,
while policy makers and media
currently focus on carbon and
climate change, the biggest issue
for shoppers right now relates to
plastic and packaging.
Our research also shows that 71
per cent of consumers agree that
farmers are trustworthy. They
are respected for their expertise
because they care about animals,
people and the environment.
Consumers also feel that farmers
deliver on their promises.
Susie added: “We can under-
stand why some farmers may feel
much-maligned, seemingly the
target for a host of simplified crit-
icism on single issues. However,
the reality is consumers have an
overall good impression of British
agriculture, with 62 per cent of
consumers feeling positive and
only five per cent actively feeling
negative – although it varies
slightly by sector.
“While farmers are trusted by
the general public, an area where
they can do better is ‘communi-
cating with consumers.
“Agriculture is trusted, but that
trust is not blind. As an industry,
we must drive out instances
of bad practice, engage with
consumers and constantly strive
to improve our ways of working.
Being trusted and transparent is
crucial and this report explores
how we can deepen that trust for
the benefit of industry and the
consumer.”
ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/
consumer-insight-trust-transparency-
and-traceability.
A podcast entitled ‘What data tells
us about consumer trends’ can be
found here https://audioboom.com/
posts/7371147-what-data-tells-us-
about-consumer-habits
UK plans to fund new technologies to transform
farming and tackle climate change
A challenge, run by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on behalf of
the government, will help farmers to reduce pollution and boost food
production through the integrated use of new digital technologies,
sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics.
THIS investment is neces-
sary to meet the challenge
of climate change and get
the agricultural sector on
a trajectory to achieve net
zero emissions by 2040.
Under the latest round
of the Transforming Food
Production Challenge,
£20m grant funding is
on offer for future food
production systems
that have the potential
to transform current
methods of production by
improving sustainability
and productivity. The
competition opened on 16th
September.
Innovative ideas that have
won funding under similar
previous government
schemes include a project
to produce a prototype
for a soft-fruit picking
robot, which would reduce
the need for seasonal
fruit-picking labour and a
project called Tuberscan,
which will scan potatoes
underground ensuring they
can be harvested at the
right time.
The Transforming Food
Production challenge would
particularly welcome
large-scale ambitious and
integrated projects to
demonstrate the art of the
possible in terms of future
food production systems.
Two other schemes will
also open shortly:
One will invite joint projects
from the UK and China with
a focus on autonomous
technologies such as sensors,
systems, vehicles and robot-
ics to enhance productivity
and sustainability. These
projects will aim to reduce
emissions from agriculture,
contributing to the target
of net zero emissions from
agriculture by 2040.
The second competi-
tion is called Science into
Technology and Practice
which aims to strengthen
ties between farmers,
researchers and businesses
to develop approaches to
improve productivity. It will
support projects that will
transform food production.
All this investment in new
resource efficient, low emis-
sion production systems
is part of the government’s
commitment to boost R&D
spending to 2.4% of GDP
by 2027. The fund helps
businesses, researchers
and industry to transform
farming and meet the needs
of a growing population.
cleangrowthchallenges@
fourcommunications.com