Three senior AHDB roles face redundancy under proposed restructure

AHDB has placed three senior roles at risk of redundancy as it considers changes to its leadership structure.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board has begun individual consultations with the employees affected.

No final decisions have been made, and the levy body said it would complete a fair consultation process before confirming the outcome.

AHDB’s statement did not identify the roles or departments involved.

It also did not provide a timetable for the consultation or disclose whether the proposals were expected to produce financial savings.

The levy board described the plan as a limited leadership change rather than a wholesale reorganisation.

Its strategy and levy-funded services will continue as normal during the consultation, it said.

AHDB wants accountability, specialist knowledge and service delivery to sit closer to the priorities of individual agricultural sectors and levy payers.

Chief executive Helen Herniman said: “AHDB has a responsibility to make sure levy payers can see their levy working hard for them.”

The proposed structure is intended to strengthen the organisation’s focus on evidence, sustainability, market development and industry representation.

AHDB said farmers and growers were facing mounting pressure from volatile markets, rising costs, changing weather and environmental commitments.

Advances in technology and agricultural data were also creating new opportunities for businesses, it added.

Herniman said the organisation’s role was to help levy-paying farmers and growers respond to those challenges, strengthen their businesses and improve the prospects of British agriculture.

“Our ambition is clear: to help build a thriving, sustainable and trusted food and farming sector, and to deliver even greater value for the farmers, growers and levy payers we serve,” she said.

AHDB said the outcome of the proposals would be confirmed after the consultation, although no decision date was announced.