Horticultural Sector Committee report: ‘Sowing the seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector’

On 19 April 2024 the House of Lords is due to debate the following motion:

Lord Redesdale (Liberal Democrat) to move that this House takes note of the report from the Horticultural Sector Committee ‘Sowing the seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector’ (Session 2022–23, HL Paper 268).

1. What did the committee say?

The committee’s inquiry, launched in February 2023, sought to explore the opportunities and challenges faced by the horticultural sector, including the impact of climate change, rising costs and labour and skills shortages.^[1] As part of this it said it would also consider the potential for new technologies and policies to help the sector, particularly in light of levelling up and post-Brexit trade policies. It defined horticulture as a “branch of agriculture that relates to the production, cultivation and management of edible fruits and vegetables, and ornamental plants”.

The committee published its report, ‘Sowing the seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector’, on 6 November 2023. It called for urgent steps to be taken to support the sector, saying that it was “under-prioritised and unappreciated by policymakers”.^[2]

The committee noted difficulties assessing the economic value of the sector.^[3] However, it stated that the Chartered Institute of Horticulture estimated that businesses growing fruit and vegetables employed over 50,000 people, and other industry estimates suggest that as many as 674,200 people are employed by the wider ornamental and landscaping sector. It also highlighted analysis by the Environmental Horticulture Group that the “entire GDP footprint of the ornamental and landscaping sector was £28.8bn in 2019 and, with the right support. could reach almost £42bn in 2030”, and that garden tourism (such as visits to renowned parks and gardens) has been estimated as worth around £2.9bn towards UK GDP.^[4]

The latest horticultural statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reported that:

• The value of home-produced [those grown within the UK] vegetables increased by 4.8% to just under £1.8bn in 2022, and the volume of home production decreased by 5.8% to 2.4mn tonnes. There was an increase of 7.5% in the value of field vegetables, at £1.4bn (£98mn increase) whilst the value of protected vegetables [those grown in environments such as greenhouses or polythene tunnels] decreased by 4.4% to £371mn (£17mn decrease).
• Home produced fruit has risen in value to just over £1bn, an increase of 9.5% compared to 2021, with production volumes increasing 13% to 652,000 tonnes.
• UK ornamentals were worth £1.5bn in 2022, a decrease of 1.5% compared to 2021.^[5]

However, the committee noted that the Defra statistics also showed that “only 17 percent of fruit and 55 percent of vegetables were home produced”.^[6]

The committee stated that, despite its contribution to the economy, the horticultural sector was “widely misunderstood and poorly promoted”.^[7] It said that government oversight was “patchy” and that the sector was facing large challenges that put its future in jeopardy. For example, it highlighted the trading and cost issues it faced due to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and conflict in Ukraine:

The ongoing impact of EU exit combined with the Covid-19 pandemic and conflict in Ukraine has led to an erratic and confusing trading environment that is squeezing horticultural exports and delaying the imports on which the UK relies for food security and ornamental plants. Inflationary pressures have led to a cost-of-living crisis in which supermarkets and garden centres seek to restrict prices to the detriment of growers, who face ever increasing costs.^[8]

It also listed other challenges to be addressed, including:^[9]

• “relentless” supermarket competition to keep prices low, and the impact of this on domestic grower’s returns
• a “long-term skills and education gap, leading to reliance on a poorly planned and managed seasonal migrant worker scheme”
• inadequate research, support and information relating to a proposed peat ban^[10]
• a lack of long-term funding for research and development, particularly how automation could help the sector
• poor understanding of the mental and physical benefits of gardening

The committee said that a failure to address these challenges endangered the sector and would have negative impacts on food security and attempts to tackle environmental concerns.^[11] It stressed that the sector had “extraordinary potential” for helping to achieve the net zero agenda and that, in light of current dietary trends, it could reduce reliance on food imports. It said that “with the right support, policies and funding, the UK horticultural sector can become a world leader in the sustainable practices and policies that will ensure generations to come can enjoy the full variety of produce grown in Britain”.^[12]

The report set out 93 recommendations for the government.^[13] Summarising some of its ‘key recommendations’ on its website, the committee stated:

• The government needs to make good on its promise [set out in the Government’s 2022 food strategy^[14]] to publish a horticulture strategy for England to set direction for the sector and give growers confidence.
• It must back horticulture jobs by putting horticulture on the curriculum, producing a workforce strategy, and publishing its review of the seasonal worker visa route.
• More support must be given to amateur and professional growers to help them transition to environmentally friendly practices such as using peat-free growing media.
• It should urgently conduct and publish its review of fairness in the supply chain.
• It needs to review the research and development (R&D) landscape to support innovation.^[15]

2. What was the government’s response to the committee’s recommendations?

The government published its response to the committee’s report on 12 February 2024, addressing each of the 93 recommendations in turn.^[16]

Responding to the calls for a horticulture strategy to be published, the government appeared to distance itself from publishing an official strategy. It said it was already engaging with and supporting the industry, and was working on various ways to improve this support:

Government is committed to supporting the horticulture sector and is focused on delivering for British farmers and growers. Our regular engagement with the industry helps us understand what support the sector needs to continue to produce great British food and thrive.

We already take a strategic approach that focuses our resources on taking action on the issues most important to the sector. Horticulture and agriculture are very dynamic industries. Although strategies can be useful, they are also a snapshot in time. We are very aware that action and interventions is required to support the horticulture sector and we are working across government to ensure that major issues such as labour, science and innovation, climate resilience, food security, plant health, food security and many others.^[17]

Other responses to the committee’s key recommendations included:

• The government did not agree that horticulture should be added to the curriculum as a stand-alone topic. It said there was no room in the curriculum for a new subject and that aspects of it were already covered across the key stages.^[18]
• The government stated that it was considering the recommendations from the ‘Independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain’, including on access to migrant labour and developing a workforce data strategy. It said it would respond in early 2024.^[19]
• The government said it remained committed to bans on the use of peat and would legislate when parliamentary time allowed. It said it was updating its impact assessment on the banning of peat and would also be assessing the potential environmental impact of alternative growing media.^[20] However, it stressed that the “greatest environmental benefit is realised by leaving peat in the ground and ensuring it is in a healthy condition”.^[21]
• The government stated it would consider other proposals from the sector to promote environmentally friendly gardening.^[22] It also stated that Defra would be reviewing the national pollinator strategy and action plan and stressed that this had previously led to public engagement and awareness raising activities (such as events to highlight the importance of bees).^[23]
• The government noted that the consultation on the review of fairness in the fresh produce sector supply chain closed in February 2024.^[24] At the time of writing, the government was still analysing responses. The government also stressed in its response that the review only considered edible produce and that, therefore, supply chains for ornamental crops were not included in the review. However, it said it could consult on these in the future.^[25]
• The government gave various examples of its work to support R&D and innovation. This included funding support for gene editing technologies and for research and development more generally. For example, it stated that Defra was working with UK Research and Innovation to “deliver the £270mn farming innovation programme in England for industry-led research and development in agriculture and horticulture”. It said this would enable more farmers, growers, academics and agri-food businesses to become involved in agricultural R&D.^[26]

3. Read more

• House of Lords Horticultural Sector Committee, ‘Enhanced summary of the committee’s report’, 6 November 2023
• Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, ‘Future of horticulture’, 30 October 2023
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, ‘Contractual relationships in the UK fresh produce industry’, accessed 25 March 2024
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, ‘Independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain’, 30 June 2023
• House of Lords Library, ‘The UK’s horticultural sector’, 4 October 2022

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Cover image by Abigail Lynn on Unsplash.