Sustainable farming organisation Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) has said the UK must now work together and recognise the value of certification schemes in a post-Brexit world.
LEAF are calling on the entire industry to collaborate and seize the opportunity for growth.
The organisation says that British farmers who use the LEAF Marque scheme can benefit from access to overseas markets, within and beyond the EU, because the LEAF Marque is internationally credited through ISEAL (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance).
Caroline Drummond, LEAF CEO said that Britain is facing a 'new, challenging, yet exciting' era as the country leaves the European Union.
She said: “The food and farming sector will be impacted greatly by this change, smart and reasoned approaches are critical to develop a confident, profitable and sustainable world-leading UK food and farming sector.
“Independently verified certification schemes, like the LEAF Marque empower businesses, whether retailers, farmers, growers or packers, to market their vision, their aspirations and their credentials. The LEAF Marque environmental assurance system provides robust evidence that sustainable farming standards are being met.
“Farmers across the world are already making important sustainability commitments and choosing to realise them through LEAF Marque certification. If more farmers and growers embrace this opportunity, we can represent a truly powerful force for change.”
'Deeply disturbing times'
Jonathon Porritt, Founder and Director, Forum for the Future, said the UK lives in 'deeply disturbing times' and there are 'huge splits' in the farming community about Brexit.
He said: “Currently there is nothing coming out of Defra to help us understand what farming will look like post CAP. However, it is good to see much more applied, realistic work going on in this area from the NGO sector.
“You cannot make the world's food system more sustainable without recognising that it will come at a cost. The world’s farmers have to be paid a fair price for producing sustainably. The debate has to be had about the illusion of cheap food.”
LEAF’s future priorities include expanding the LEAF Marque in the livestock and dairy sectors, and working with the supply chain to deliver more demand for LEAF Marque certified products.
The organisation has also called for new benchmarking standards in monitoring farm performance.
Caroline Drummond stated: “Monitoring performance is the basis for farm business improvement. A common set of farm benchmarking standards (which do not currently exist for every sector) would provide the food and farming industries with data and a means of tracking improvements.”
