Hosted by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon the event brought together Defra Minister George Eustice MP, members of the Houses of Commons and Lords and representatives from across the horticultural sector.
Mr Eustice, the Government Minister of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment, who holds an HND in Commercial Horticulture, praised the Horticulture sector for coming together to create the plan, saying: “I welcome the work that you’ve all done to put together this action plan. It does include asks of government, but what I’m reassured by, as well, is that in {the plan} there are lots of commitments from industry to help themselves and to actually move forward certain projects.”
He went on to reaffirm his commitment to supporting the sector, he said: “I want to thank you all for all of the hard work that you’ve done to put into this action plan I think it’s very important. This is a crucial, vital industry about which I am passionate about and if there’s anything I can do to help you implement this plan and take it forward I’m more than willing to do all I can.”
In a wide-ranging speech the Minister touched on the need to change perceptions of the sector and attract talented graduates into the industry. He also spoke about the importance of the supply chain, and the need to work towards greater parity and greater sharing of risk between smaller fragmented producers and larger businesses.
The Ornamental Horticulture Action Plan, which is the result of close collaboration between industry experts facilitated by Defra, identifies 12 priority areas where government and industry could work together to encourage and aid long-term growth.
Among the changes the sector would like to see over the next five years are for:
- Gardening considered as a treatment on the NHS
- Public bodies and publicly funded works and projects to use UK plants
- International garden expo to be created to showcase UK horticulture
- Modernisation of the supply chain to improve relationships and competitiveness and reduce dependence on imports
- Introduction of a higher level of horticultural apprenticeship to addresses skills shortages
- Garden centres and retailers should be exempted from the Sunday Trading Act
Carol Paris, Chief Executive of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) added “The future is bright however, and I believe we are entering a golden age for the horticulture industry. By taking horticulture into the realms of health, environmental and societal benefits – more than just looking pretty – we are developing new markets and skills as well as tackling some of the biggest national and global problems we face. We have never seen lasting collaboration on this scale before, and it is definitely starting to bear fruit.”
RHS Young Ambassador – 10 year old George Hassall from Manchester, a self-confessed ‘nature nerd’ and ‘gardening geek’, spoke passionately about his interest in gardening and wildlife and the benefits that it brings. He said, “I know a lot of my friends love their Xbox – I’m not saying that they should stop playing it altogether but take 5 minutes, go outside into the garden and get some fresh air and it will make you feel a lot better.” Following an interest development at home and through his school gardening club George is keen to champion gardening as he moves to high school next year.
The organisations behind the development of the first ever cross-sector action plan include the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Grow Careers, AHDB Horticulture, the Horticulture Innovations Partnership, the Horticultural Trades Association, Landex, the National Farmers’ Union, the Royal Horticultural Society and Young Hort. These organisations will continue to guide its development over the next five years.
The full plan can be downloaded here
For more information
Horticultural Trades Association
Horticulture House
19 High Street
Theale
Reading
West Berkshire
RG7 5AH
T: +44 (0)118 930 3132
Fax: +44 (0)118 932 3453
NGGV: +44 (0)118 930 2092
www.the-hta.org.uk
