THE NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Tuesday 23 March 2021 09.30 - 11.30

Via Teams

Minutes

Welcome from the Chair; apologies; introductions, minutes of the last meeting; approval and matters

arising

Corrienne Peasgood, the Chair, welcomed members and introduced the meeting. She provided a recap on

the previous Brexit-focussed meeting in January and thanked members for responding to the governance

review outcome. Apologies were read out.

State of the nation: Norfolk and Suffolk farming and food update

Skills - Corrienne Peasgood

The Skills white paper has been published which contains several strands of importance for this group.

The white paper focuses on post-18 education, but also covers careers advice for pre-18s, and the paper

has an emphasis on higher-tech skills. Plans to implement the contents of the white paper are expected in

the summer, after which Government's response to the earlier Augar review is expected, to coincide with

the Autumn spending review. Norfolk County Council is funding a project to develop the Agri-Food Sector

Skills Plan by reviewing existing teaching provision alongside industry needs, identifying where there are

gaps, and working out how these can be filled. An ESF project, to be completed by 2023, will look at

curriculum design and delivery for young people aged 16 to 18, working with the sector to ensure the

curriculum reflects the industry in the target areas.

Update on Freeports - Viv Gillespie

The freeports budget has been announced and will focus on activity within a 45 mile radius of Felixstowe &

Harwich. Included are plans to develop a hydrogen fuel plant close to Sizewell, with the intention to make

that fuel available for a range of other industrial sectors, including agriculture.

NFU and farm businesses - Gary Ford

An update on ten issues affecting the sector was given: After the third wettest December / January period

on record, the weather has now finally come good and farmers are getting on with fieldwork. The pilot of

the Sustainable Farming Incentive, the entry level element of ELMS, has been launched. It will cover a

range of farm environments such as hedges, soil & water. Sugar remains a challenge for growers. This

season, £45m has been lost from farm gate value due to the weather, agronomy and trade / price factors,

and yields are down 27% on the five year average. NFU members are suffering 'consultation fatigue'

with many consultations underway, including on gene editing, and a review of the Red Tractor scheme.

With the end of the transition period there are no major impacts to report, but problems remain for seed

potato exports. An NFU confidence survey found that confidence is very low with 79% of respondents

reporting that changes to the Basic Payment Scheme will negatively impact them, and 44% have been

impacted by Covid-19. A Government response to recommendations made around the Trade and

Agriculture Commission (TAC) is awaited, and development of the new TAC continues. 66% of AHDB

potato levy payers balloted responded 'no' to continuing the levy, and 33% 'yes'. Ministers will consider

next steps on this, while the levy remains payable. The recent NFU rural crime survey found that 75% of

farmers had experienced some form of crime, and 11.5% reported suffering from crime on more than ten

occasions during 2020. Requirements to house free range poultry for the control of avian influenza will

lift at the end of March.

Crop production & land management - Andrew Francis

Heavy land is still showing scars from the exceptionally wet December / January, and large areas which

won’t recover will impact returns again. Marketing and prices are mixed depending on the crop. Prices are

strong for cereals and OSR, but the potato market is very variable with no market for crops other than

grade A quality, meaning that a lot of crop is likely to be dumped. Other root vegetables are doing well,

reflecting the continuing trend for cooking at home. Planting of field vegetables seems to be down or

delayed which could be due to cold, wet soils or the market, and it could suggest supply problems later in

the year. Sugar beet problems and cabbage stem flea beetle in OSR mean that many heavy-land farmers

are reconsidering their break crop options and looking again at continuous wheat, which can bring its own

problems. Other than affecting morale among all tiers of staff and management, Covid is not currently

causing noticeable impacts. The post-Brexit trade deal is affecting imports of parts and supplies form the

Continent, with deliveries typically taking around one month longer than they were before. The number of

pilots and initiatives feels overwhelming at the moment, with no tangible results yet.

CLA and rural businesses - Nick Sandford

The CLA is seeing concerns from members over trade friction, and the agricultural transition away from

CAP is still a source of major worry, as is the SFI pilot scheme. Questions remain over when diversified

enterprises will open up (e.g. wedding venues and rural tourism) and it’s hoped that there will be a

domestic tourism boom this summer. Energy infrastructure is under huge pressure as there is no capacity

for new rural businesses or for those investing in renewables to feed into the grid. If net zero-driven

electrification is to succeed this must be addressed promptly. The CLA is also campaigning hard for a

realistic approach to minimum energy performance standards for rural businesses. Rural crime is very

much on the agenda. More positively, the Community Renewal Fund in West Norfolk and North Norfolk is

supporting improved connectivity for rural businesses.

Food processing, supply & retail - Barry Chevalier Guild (written report)

Hospitality has been very hard hit in the last year. Whilst the retail sector and online sales have made a

difference and seen considerable growth it has not made up for lost hospitality sales. Many businesses

have taken all the government support they can whether it be furlough, grants or loans. Supply will be an

issue in the short to medium term. Whilst all are gearing up for the release of lockdown there is no telling

how big the uplift will be but judging on what happened after previous easing of restrictions demand will be

high. It's unknown whether sufficient supply exists to meet it in the short term (i.e. product takes time to

produce). There will also be capacity issues around cardboard and other packaging. Online sales have

increased demand for cardboard meaning capacity will be stretched when the traditional routes to market

start needing trays and cases. The availability of shipping containers is still restricted and importers are

seeing costs of containers triple or quadruple. A legacy of lockdowns is containers in the wrong place and /

or still holding unsold or unused stock. Finally, issues exist around importing from the EU which as

demand increases will again cause delays as exporters and importers get used to the paperwork required.

Agricultural machinery, market & issues - Ben Turner

The agricultural machinery market remains buoyant but stock shortages mean lead times are very long.

Used equipment is selling well on the Continent and trade friction has eased, although misinformation

around duties on imported machinery still persists. Growers are moving away from sugar beet and oilseed

rape, and increasingly potatoes too, due to persistently high costs and poor yields. On the positive side,

Oatly is opening a factory in Peterborough and plans to source all its oats from within East Anglia.

Food Enterprise Park - Clarke Willis

Major developments at the FEP are expected to begin in May, with approximately £30m worth of work to

be undertaken over the next 12-14 months. The Food Innovation Centre application to the ERDF is at its

final stages, and we expect it to open in June 2022. It will house 13 units of varied size, and a business

engagement group has been established to manage the cluster development and to drive innovation and

growth through business support, networking and collaboration. Final arrangements are being put in place

for a new vertical farm development, which could be the largest such farm in the UK, growing fresh

produce over a 4,000m2 growing area on six levels. Other businesses and organisations are also looking

at available units. Infrastructure (water, drainage, roads, power, telecoms) is still under development but

lack of power presents a considerable obstacle. However, plans are underway to divert to the site 30mw

from the Sheringham Shoal infrastructure, and also to establish an 80 acre solar farm. The FEP's ambition

is to be net zero and to serve as a distribution / charging point for electric vehicles going into Norwich.

Introduction to 'Smart Specialisation’

To inform Council’s thinking on this concept and its application in promoting Norfolk & Suffolk

Dr O'Sullivan, from the Institute of Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge, gave Council an

introduction to Smart Specialisation. This concept arose in the early 2010s due to the mismatch between

how research and other funds were allocated. It was felt that these different funding streams should be

more closely aligned and complementary, to enable the region to be more competitive. A key focus of

smart specialisation is in identifying and developing the distinctiveness of industrial strengths and

opportunities, along the whole value chain. Identifying where this distinctiveness lies involves talking to a

more inclusive and broader mix of stakeholders to identify all areas of competitiveness, alongside the

obvious ones. Exploring and generating new insights around what is distinctive and competitive creates

better awareness of all existing elements of local economy and markets. This bottom-up approach can

reveal areas where the region could become a real leader, and has at its core the need to develop

awareness of key industrial activities and players, as well as identifying who the region's competitors are

and how to compete with them.

Key points from item 3 discussion and chat

• We need to look at how we can collaborate better with other regions in the East such as GC&P &

Lincs, in order to compete globally rather than with other parts of the UK

• We need to overcome the challenge of identifying, connecting, understanding, defining and

collaborating with the hundreds of disconnected local businesses in the area

• We need to improve connections between local research and business, to demonstrate that our

renowned research institutions deliver outcomes for the benefit of the local economy.

• We need to bring together connections between agri-food/ health and our strengths in energy and

digital connectivity to create a vision that the region can market globally.

• We must remember to identify our competitors and benchmark ourselves against them so we a

really can differentiate ourselves

Smart specialisation in Norfolk & Suffolk: Our USP?

How outputs from Council subgroups should be used to contribute to Council & NA LEP objectives

Discussion informed by the attached update paper

Council was reminded of the four areas for further opportunities as identified in the Agri-Food Intelligence

Report. These are novel crops, environmental services, value retention at the farm gate and automation

and data collection. The chair of the inward investment subgroup explained that the group was working

closely with the LEP's inward investment team, and would be working to support a green recovery and

reach net zero. A core part of this will be to understand and make the most of the competencies and

capabilities already present in the region, which will include developing the business 'mapping' within the

Agri-Food Intelligence Report. The group will support efforts to attract additional business competencies

and funding to deliver this. Thereafter followed a discussion around the progress made so far by Council

and its subgroups, and opportunities for further development, including those encompassing a smart

specialisation approach.

• The discussion highlighted the importance of collaborating with our neighbours such as

Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire to define our distinctive capabilities and maximise our

opportunities in the global agricultural market which is 3,000 times the size of our sector in Norfolk

& Suffolk, representing a considerable marketplace.

• We need to better understand and develop the existing food chains in the area, as well as improve

the co-ordination in the very fragmented agri-food industry.

• We must focus on supporting and protecting our current business strengths as well as looking to

attract new business and innovation into the area.

• New Anglia and other LEPs will be critical in helping to drive the discussion around how

infrastructure will be put in place to deliver net zero agenda. Our roadmap to recovery needs to

cover immediate needs to future ambition, and longer-term funding is needed to drive it.

Clean Growth Taskforce update

For Council’s information

An update on New Anglia LEP’s taskforce was given. Council was told that New Anglia LEP is pulling

together a small group of leaders, movers and shakers to drive the LEP to a clean growth future in Norfolk

and Suffolk. The emphasis must be on ensuring that clean growth is woven throughout all of the LEP's

activities. For example, every investment covered in the LEP's Investment Plan will be assessed through a

clean growth lens.

Innovation Board update

For Council’s information

Council member Belinda Clarke gave an update on the activities and focus of the Agri-Food Council at the

recent Innovation Board meeting. There are potentially a number of crossovers between the Board and the

Agri-Food Council, and it's hoped that we'll see increased engagement between the two bodies.

Agri-Food Governance and structure review

For Council’s information

The revised Terms of Reference for membership of the Agri-Food Industry Council were approved. Greg

Smith and Clarke Willis were thanked for their new roles as chairing the skills and business intelligence

subgroups respectively. The Chair thanked members for their positive responses to the outcome of the

recent governance review, and for their nominations for potential new members. She gave an update on

these individuals who were being invited to sit on the Council to fill the gaps identified in the review. The

chair thanked those who had stepped down from the Council.

Any Other Business and dates of future meetings

There was no other business

Dates of 2021 meetings: (Note timings)

Tuesday June 22

1400 - 1600

Tuesday September 21

0930 - 1130

Tuesday December 14

1030 - 1230

In Attendance

Martin Collison, Collison and Associates; Ben Turner, Ben Burgess and Co Ltd; Jonathan Clarke, JIC;

Jo Middleton, Norfolk County Council; Alex Dinsdale, Agri-TechE; Sam Fairs, Hillfairs Farming Ltd;

Gary Ford, NFU; Viv Gillespie, Suffolk New College; Jasmine Joolia, Suffolk County Council;

Corrienne Peasgood, (Chair) City College Norwich; Greg Smith; Emma Taylor, New Anglia LEP;

Clarke Willis, Food Enterprise Park, Belinda Clarke, Agri-TechE; Andrew Francis, Elveden Estate; Nick

Sandford, CLA; Mark Nicholas, Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association

By invitation

Stuart Catchpole and James Allen, New Anglia LEP; Eoin O'Sullivan, Institute for Manufacturing

Apologies for absence

Philip Ainsworth, Suffolk Ag Association; Briony Tuthill, Anglian Water; Robert Gooch, The Wild Meat

Co; Nigel Davies, Muntons; Andrew Fearne, UEA.