Belated declarations of supermarket support for farmers in their fight against government changes to Inheritance Tax have been slammed as “blatant hypocrisy” by Riverford Organic Farmers founder Guy Singh-Watson.
A series of major supermarkets this week announced support for the NFU’s calls for a “pause” in the rollout of the controversial IHT reforms, first announced in the budget on 30 October, pending a full consultation into the impact of the Treasury’s plans on the farming sector.
In a major win for the farming union’s campaign, Tesco, Lidl, Co-op, Aldi, Asda, Waitrose, M&S and Ocado all confirmed their backing for the NFU’s ‘Stop the Family Farm Tax’ campaign, ahead of a nationwide ‘Day of Unity’ in protest at the policy change tomorrow (25 January).
Tesco chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad this week said the retailer was pressing government to halt the plans and “fully” understood farmer concerns over changes to agriculture (APR) and business property (BPR) reliefs – which will see an end to 100% relief on properties valued over £1m. That relief figure is set to fall to 50%, leading to concerns many farms could ultimately be forced to the wall.
“Farmers desperately need more certainty,” he added. “The UK’s future food security is at stake.”
Read more: Tesco, Lidl, Co-op and Aldi call for government to hit ‘pause’ on ‘Family Farm Tax’
His comments were echoed a number of Tesco’s rivals, while both Morrisons and Sainsbury’s also voiced support for the farming sector in its battle (while stopping short of calls for a “pause”). A letter to the government, signed by all the retailers, is also understood to be in the works.
However, Riverford’s Singh-Watson argued the “sudden support” for the cause – some three months after the policy was first announced – was more linked to “growing public and media attention on this issue”, raising questions about the sincerity of supermarket messaging.
“Are farmers really going to fall for this? The truth is, if supermarkets paid farmers fairly in the first place, they wouldn’t be in a situation where they can’t afford to pay tax,” said the founder of the organic veg box business.
“This so-called support is blatant hypocrisy. The system supermarkets have created, one that prioritises their profits at the expense of farmers, has left many family farmers asset-rich but cash-poor.”
Farmers were, as a result, unable to reinvest in their businesses or plan for the future, Singh Watson – who has led two separate campaigns in recent years calling for better regulation of supermarket practices – added.
“To put this in perspective, the government’s proposed IHT reform is expected to raise £400m. Meanwhile, Tesco alone made £2.6bn in profit last year. The imbalance of power between supermarkets and farmers is the real problem here.”
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If supermarkets genuinely wanted to support British farming, “they should start by addressing this imbalance: paying fair prices and offering fair contracts”, he suggested.
“Only recently, I heard another story about a family farmer who had grown strawberries for a major discount supermarket last summer, only for the supermarket to cancel the order the day before delivery – even though the fruit had already been picked and packed.”
The businessman heard “stories like this all the time, but farmers are too scared to speak out”, he explained. “Riverford’s Stop Farmwashing research revealed that 67% of farmers feel under pressure from supermarkets, and the same proportion live in fear of being delisted if they complain about supermarket buying behaviour.”
Until supermarkets addressed the low prices and exploitative contracts they imposed, “any claims of support for farmers are little more than empty promises”, he insisted. “We need to create a food system that rewards sustainability and quality – not just the lowest cost.”
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