Horticultural Sector Committee: inquiry to hear evidence on soil quality, a peat-free future and trade
Wednesday 5 July 2023
At 10.30am on Thursday 6 July 2023 the House of Lords Horticultural Sector Committee will be hearing evidence from:
- Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry, Soil Association
- Professor Duncan Cameron, Chair in Environmental Sustainability, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester
- Ben Malin, Managing Director, EJ Godwin.
At 11.30am the committee will hear from:
- Sandy Shepherd, Managing Director, Ball Colegrave
- Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
- Jennifer Pheasey, Director of Public Affairs, Horticultural Trades Association.
These evidence sessions, which are open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords and streamed live on Parliament TV.
Topics likely to be covered in these sessions include:
- The greatest risks to soil health and how these might impact the horticultural sector.
- The Government’s targets to ban the use of peat in the retail and professional sectors.
- Environmental challenges presented by artificial pesticides and fertilisers and how growers can be supported to transition to more sustainable approaches.
- How the proposed Target Operating Model will impact the trade in horticultural produce.
- The effectiveness of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) rules and their implications for businesses in the horticultural sector.
- Biosecurity concerns raised by the import and export of horticultural produce.
More about this inquiry
The cross-party Horticultural Sector Committee is considering the challenges, opportunities and risks faced by the horticultural sector, including the impact of rising input costs and labour and skills shortages, and how innovative technologies might address these issues and other pressing challenges such as the impact of climate change on productivity and food supply. In addition, it will explore how policy can support the sector in meeting the Government’s ambitions for levelling up and post-Brexit trade policy. It will publish its report by the end of this year.
