UK: McCain steps in to fund UK farmers hit by flooding and other challenges
The UK’s largest frozen potato product manufacturer, McCain Foods, will increase its financial support for farmers over the next three years by £30m, as they grapple with challenges including climate change.
McCain Foods works with a network of some 250 potato farmers across the UK and is the largest purchaser of the nation’s potato crop.
A poll of 100 of these farmers found that 57 have already had their yields “significantly impacted” by climate change. Four in ten said that changing weather patterns had increased operational costs due to a greater need for irrigation and drainage.
The poll found that farmers’ biggest financial challenges aside from environmental threats like the climate crisis are rising energy and fertiliser costs, attributable in part to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Because of these challenges, almost all (97%) of McCain’s potato farmers have considered diversifying their operations to add more sources of profit. 46% are planning to install renewable energy generation to this end.
McCain has today (17 February) set out plans to adjust the price per tonne paid for potatoes to reflect the increasing risk of yield variation. It will additionally introduce a 20% advanced payment of contract value to help alleviate cashflow challenges and support the increased negative working capital farmers are facing.
Some of the £30m will also provide strategic support for farmers struggling to cover the CAPEX costs of new equipment that could enhance their resilience, such as efficient irrigation and drainage systems and on-farm water storage.
McCain is also working to provide practical support to farmers enhancing their ability to plan for extreme weather patterns.
Grower Sam Daw said the package will “rejuvenate confidence in the sector, reshape our cashflow and allow for investment and growth planning”.
McCain Foods GB’s VP for agriculture James Young said: “British potato farmers are facing a myriad of unprecedented challenges from rising input costs to extreme weather events. At McCain, we pride ourselves on the strong partnerships we have built with our 250 growers and are committed to supporting them. We believe this package bolsters our ongoing collaboration with growers to help ensure the long-term sustainability of British agriculture.”
Fuente: edie.net
