main pic Ali Capper NFU

Ali Capper at NFU HQ, Stoneleigh

Harold Wilson famously said that a week is a long time in politics, and right now, the same could very much be said of farming.

Whether you envy or pity Ali Capper for taking on the chairmanship of the NFU Horticulture & Potatoes Board at a time of the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW), the most fierce supermarket price war in recent memory and huge grower concern over the loss of available chemicals, depends how much you enjoy times of flux. It’s as full an in-tray as anyone could imagine when taking on a job. And then there’s the small matter of Brexit.

It’s fair to say life isn’t dull for Capper right now, but she’s refusing to be cowed by the task, insisting she’s “loved” the job so far. Anyone who saw her feisty challenge to secretary of state Liz Truss at the NFU Conference in March shouldn’t be in any doubt that she’s up for the fight, and she’s already proving she has the passion to follow in the footsteps of her predecessors and fellow growers Guy Poskitt and Sarah Dawson in the role.

There’s only one place to start a conversation right now, and that’s the impact of the referendum, but unlike many of the naysayers, Capper is taking a distinctly bullish attitude towards the situation the industry finds itself in. “Though there are lots of potentially very significant problems, there are also lots of opportunities,” she says. “In some ways the current political void hands us opportunities because it helps us shape the future direction.”

That pretty much sums Capper up – preferring to be in the eye of the storm trying to make a difference rather than gesticulating from the sidelines. Her positivity does not mean she was in any sense a Brexiter, but she is pragmatic enough to know it’s shades of grey rather than black and white. “There was no right answer to the EU referendum,” she says. “It should never have happened. Would a marginal Remain position have been better? No. The EU regime is broken. And there are opportunities arising from this.”

While on the one hand Capper is unafraid to spell out the doomsday scenario facing some growers as a result of, say, the NLW, she is equally happy to see the silver lining around Brexit rather than focusing on the cloud.

She comes armed with a list of demands for government though, and those include access to labour from anywhere in the world for people of any age; assurances that producer organisation subsidies will be replaced, at least to start with; and access to a greater range of new actives – though she stresses the NFU is not calling for government to “open up a toolbox from 30 years ago” asnew actives are more targeted and crop-specific.

She also sees the renegotiation as a chance to make the UK regulatory framework fit for purpose, which includes more resources for the Chemicals Regulation Directorate and science-based, rather than emotional, decision making. It’s not all about relaxing the rules though, as she feels leaving the EU would be an opportunity to strengthen plant health controls, with current “weaknesses inthe system”.

While for many people the world turned upside down with the result of the referendum, for the NFU it’s more a case of adjusting existing targets. Labour, for example, was always a top priority: “The abolition of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Scheme (SAWS) was an own goal,” she explains. “Government reacted to what they saw as a political response of the electorate to the immigration debate.

“It’s very important that we stop talking publicly about migrant labour and start talking about hand harvesting of crops and the work that is done in the packhouse. We have a precedent of running a controlled system. We just want that opportunity back.” Meetings have already taken place with the Home Office to restate the industry’s case.

There’s no question for Capper though that the overriding challenge facing the industry is the need for mitigation on NLW. It had been a case of months of frustration as the government refused to listen to industry concerns, but she says that as soon as NLW was introduced on 1 April it became willing to engage.

Two meetings with the Department for Work & Pensions have been scheduled and the NFU’s asks include the exemption of seasonal workers into the auto-enrolment scheme, while a proposal for an exemption on National Insurance for all seasonal agricultural workers will be put to the Treasury.

“This isn’t that the industry has a problem with the NLW,” she insists. “The issue is that if you put inflation at seven per cent per year in the base, that has an impact all the way through the wage range. And when you are employing large numbers of people not far from the NLW rate, those workers want that increase all the way through. So the impact is even greater for our sector than others.”

The NFU has spelled out some fairly disastrous potential consequences for some labour-heavy crops in particular if the government doesn’t soften its stance.It fits in with the NFU’s position as a lobbying organisation, helping to shape a sustainable and profitable British food production industry. The union launched its blueprint for a sustainable sector, Fit for the Future, at FPJ Live in April, building on the work it’s already done with its Catalyst for Change report.

Other priorities include securing more government investment in innovation and technology, an increase in capital allowances and clear access to scientific funding. And she urges the supermarkets to stop using fresh produce as a loss leader, outlining numerous ways to help boost sales of fruit and vegetables and get the public and government appreciating the true price of food.

With so much on her plate, are there any regrets over taking on such a huge job? Not a bit of it. “It’s a challenge, to continue to drive home what really matters to members, and that means a continuous assessment of what the priorities are. I think I had anticipated the workload – it’s a case of dealing with a lot of new things to begin with. That’s settling now, and I know where the focus needs to be.”

Focused would be the ideal word to sum up Capper, and growers can be assured she will be fighting their corner throughout her time in the hot seat.