The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP’s) Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson, MP Carla Lockhart, has welcomed the decision by Red Tractor to “axe the controversial” Green Farming Assurance standard.
The UK food assurance body planned to develop the ‘bolt-on’ Greener Farms Commitment (GFC) standard for farms that met certain environmental criteria, it was initially scheduled to be rolled out next month.
The Red Tractor’s Green Farming Assurance plan “attracted considerable back-lash” from industry unions and farmers.
MP Carla Lockhart stated that lessons have been learnt and that she welcomes the assurance from Red Tractor that all environmental standards and modules will not be implemented without industry consultation.
DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart added:
“Red Tractor definitely overstepped its remit, although, marketed as “optional”, farmers were anxious that the GFC standard would eventually evolve into a requirement for market access.
“Farm margins are squeezed enough and farmers should not be required to foot the bill for sustainability measures on behalf of processors and supermarkets.”
However, Lockhart said that she welcomes the findings that Red Tractor needs to adopt a more “farmer-friendly” approach to “strengthen” stakeholder engagement, while addressing farmer frustrations.
Ms. Lockhart added that she fully supports the Red Tractor Quality Assurance Scheme as it plays a “vital role” in allowing farmers and agri-producers to compete in the marketplace in which they operate.
The Red Tractor scheme offers consumers the assurance that food products have been responsibly sourced, safely produced, and come from crops and animals that have been well cared for, Lockhart added.
MEP Lockhart continued: “The Green Farming Assurance standard may have fell within Red Tractor’s corporate objectives, but it failed to identify and respond to the differences between the devolved nations which have become more pronounced in recent years.”
Red Tractor GFC module
Red Tractor Assurance announced on Friday, March 22 that it is dropping its Greener Farms Commitment (GFC) module following “feedback from its members”.
The module had faced criticism from many farming unions, with the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland (NFUS) stating that it would need a “complete rethink” to work for the farming community.
Red Tractor said the GFC module was originally developed to help farmers, processors and retailers meet the growing need for all to demonstrate sustainability, but in “a single, practical and consistent way”.
Chair of Red Tractor, Christine Tacon, previously said that, while the module had been conceived with the best of intentions, errors have been made.
“We take responsibility for those issues and are sorry. We hope that by dropping the module, we can close the door on this chapter and move forward,” she said.
