The results of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) potatoes levy ballot shows that 66% of respondents have voted to discontinue the levy.
The call for a ballot on the continuation of a statutory levy in the potato sector came late last year and a yes/no vote started in mid-February, on the basis of one levy payer, one vote.
Splitting the result into the two separate potato levies – the potato buyer levy and the potato grower levy – overall buyers voted 82.1% No and 17.9% Yes. The growers voted 64.3% No and 35.7% Yes. The overall voter turnout was 64% with 1,196 eligible votes cast.
“This result is a clear signal that the majority of potato growers in England and Wales do not believe their levy is delivering tangible benefits or value for their businesses.”
AHDB chair Nicholas Saphir said: “I’m deeply disappointed. The voting information reported shows that a clear majority of the potato industry feels they are not getting enough value from the current levy set-up.
“It is now down to Ministers to weigh up all the various factors about GB potato industry and make a decision on the future role of a statutory potato levy.”
Defra Minister Victoria Prentis said: “We will now take these results and scrutinise them closely before making a decision on the future of the Potato levy. A joint decision with Scottish and Welsh Ministers will be made after the Scottish and Welsh government elections.
“In the meantime AHDB will continue to collect levy returns from the industry for the 2021/22 year.”
Responding to the result, NFU horticulture and potatoes board chairman, Ali Capper, said: “This result is a clear signal that the majority of potato growers in England and Wales do not believe their levy is delivering tangible benefits or value for their businesses.
“As with the result of the AHDB Horticulture levy ballot, we expect Ministers to respect this result and to fully engage with levy-payers as part of their decision making.
“Elements such as research and development and work on plant protection products, currently delivered by AHDB Potatoes, will remain crucial for businesses, so it is important there is clarity on the future as soon as possible. This will ensure businesses are able to prepare how they work on these areas and who with.”
