ON November 11, Royal Assent was granted for the coming into effect of the Agriculture Act 2020, writes George Dunn, Chief Executive of the Tenant Farmers Association.

Many comparisons have been drawn with a similarly named Act in 1947, although there have in fact been a further six Agriculture Acts between then and now. Of course, the new legislation sets the framework around which the Government intends to build its future policy for agriculture now that we are no longer members of the European Union and having completed the transitional arrangements for our exit on New Year’s Eve this year.

A lot of the focus on this new legislation has been on the issue of standards in trade. Part five of the Act sets out marketing standards for UK agricultural produce and Part six covers compliance with the rules and regulations of the World Trade Organisation within which the UK has regained an independent seat. Quite reasonably farmers, environmentalists, animal welfare lobby groups and public health professionals have been keen to make sure that in signing up to new free trade agreements there is no undermining of standards of domestic production caused by accepting imports produced to lower standards. The Government has sought to resolve this by beefing up the operation of the newly established Trade and Agriculture Commission and promising a yet to be delivered amendment to the Trade Bill which is awaiting Report Stage in the House of Lords – watch this space.

However, the new Act is about a lot more than just standards in trade. Chapter one sets out new powers for financial assistance. Although there are ongoing discussions about how DEFRA might use these new powers, so far there is no duty for it to do anything. Various commitments and proposals have been given to the industry and it will be vital that we continue to hold the feet of the Government to the fire to deliver a sensible, pragmatic and holistic package of measures that both supports the concept of public payments for public goods and resolving wider market failures around productivity, resilience and volatility.

For the first time, the Government has a duty in respect of food security. At least once every three years Parliament will have the opportunity of receiving and debating a report outlining matters about the food security of the nation. We must ensure to make these debates both meaningful and a basis for affecting necessary policy changes where required.

Part three addresses concerns about transparency and fairness in the agri-food supply chain by seeking to look at the relationships between farmers and processors. Again, there are very few duties outlined in this part of the legislation and uncertainty as to which body will be given the responsibility to oversee any measures introduced to improve both transparency and fairness. TFA has long advocated that this responsibility should be given to the pre-existing Groceries Code Adjudicator rather than, as has been suggested, the Rural Payments Agency. Driving fairer returns for farmers will be a key measure of success for this legislation.