NEWS RELEASE – Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
31 March 2015
AHDB levy rates to stay the same for further year
In agreeing the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Corporate Plan, UK Ministers have maintained Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) levy rates for the third year running.
AHDB Chairman Peter Kendall said: “AHDB’s role is to help build a confident, competitive industry which is constantly learning and adapting, acquiring new skills, innovating and adopting new technologies.
“We do a lot of good work but we can still work smarter and be more responsive and more effective for farmers and growers - through being more focused and more joined up.
“During this year we will be thoroughly reviewing our strategies and activity plans. We will be discussing our spend priorities with levy payers - where best to focus our limited levy resources to deliver greatest impact for the long-term success of the industry.”
The Corporate Plan for the coming year aims to deliver against five strategic priorities:
1. to help levy payers improve productivity and cost management (resource management, climate change, soils and water, managing market volatility)
2. to help levy payers prevent and manage disease
3. to help levy payers deliver market development (export development, promoting quality products to differentiate against imports, market information and analysis)
4. to help levy payers understand and adapt to the regulatory and policy environment
5. to help levy payers address labour market issues and skills development.
The work is funded by statutory levies paid by farmers and growers and others in the supply chain. These levy rates are approved annually by Ministers.
The forecast total net levy for 2015/16 amounts to around £57.3m and is supplemented with grants and commercial income forecast to be in the region of £8.3m. The funds raised from each commodity sector are ring-fenced to ensure they are used to the benefit of the sectors from which they were raised:
Industry sector / Forecast net levy income 2015/16Pigs in England / £9.020 m
Beef & Lamb in England / £15.573 m
Milk in Great Britain / £6.990 m
Horticulture in Great Britain / £7.726 m
Cereals and Oilseeds in UK / £11.953 m
Potatoes in Great Britain / £5.935 m
Non-levy income (grants and commercial) / £8.343 m
Total net income / £65.540 m
Following a six week industry consultation on the Corporate Plan and levy rates, the AHDB Board had recommended a small 1.96% (circa £120,000) increase to the AHDB potato levy. Through further discussions with key stakeholders resulting from continued price pressure in the sector it has been agreed that an increase would be inappropriate at this time. The Potato Council team have worked with stakeholders over the last few months to identify savings whilst fine-tuning delivery of valued activities and outcomes within their plan.
Notes to editors:
1. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board is a Non-Departmental Public Body. It is managed as an independent organisation. Its purpose is to make our agriculture and horticulture industries more competitive and sustainable. It achieves this through a series of strategies encompassing research and development and farm-level knowledge transfer/exchange; the provision of essential market information to improve supply chain transparency and business decision making; marketing and trade market programmes to help stimulate demand and to maintain and develop export markets. It is funded by farmers, growers and others in the supply chain through statutory levies. AHDB serves six sectors representing about 75% of total UK agricultural output: Pig meat in England; Beef and lamb in England; Commercial horticulture in Great Britain; Milk in Great Britain; Potatoes in Great Britain; Cereals and oilseeds in the UK.
2. The AHDB Corporate Business Plan 2015-2018 is available to download at www.ahdb.org.uk
Media enquiries contact Guy Attenborough,
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