Julia Bradbury, Chris Packham and Rick Stein support farmers' 'scarecrow protest' over Bix Six supermarket treatment

Dozens of scarecrows outside Parliament marked the protest yesterday as MPs were about to debate reforms to the grocery supply chain.

It came after more than 110,000 people signed a petition pressing the Government to overhaul the grocery supply code of practice.

Veg box firm Riverford Organic, which initiated the petition, said the scarecrows represented fruit and vegetable farmers who will likely go out of business in the next 12 months, with many blaming supermarket buying practices.

The petition calls for regulations that ensure big stores adhere to fair purchasing agreements, including buying agreed quantities and paying the agreed amount on time “without exception”.

Riverford said Government policies failed to provide adequate support for farmers and were rarely enforced.

The campaign has the support of celebrities and leading food industry figures including Ray Mears, Julia Bradbury, Chris Packham, Jimmy Doherty, Rick Stein and Deborah Meaden, as well as organisations such as Sustain and The Soil Association.

Guy Singh-Watson, the founder of Riverford Organic, said: “British agriculture is on its knees. The livelihoods of our farmers are being laid to waste.

“Our 49 scarecrows outside Parliament illustrate the 49 per cent of farmers on the brink of leaving our industry and I hope this hammers home the sheer scale of the problem and the urgent need for change.

“Without fairer treatment for farmers, the reality is the destruction of British farming, along with the landscape, wildlife and rural communities.

“The clock is ticking. We urge the Government to take action now to safeguard the future of British agriculture.”

William White, of Sustain, said: “Riverford’s scarecrow protest sends a stark message: only strong regulation from the Government can ensure farmers get a fair deal for the food they produce.”

Nick Marston, the chairman of industry body British Berry Growers, said a survey suggested two-thirds of growers had little confidence in their future.

The cost of production had increased by 18p per 400g pack since 2021 and while retail prices had risen by 27p a pack – an increase of 14.8 per cent – average grower returns were up by just 2.3 per cent or 3.6p.

Mr Marston said: “Currently there is no requirement for fair dealing on pricing in the grocery supply code of practice. Supermarkets can put up their prices to shoppers at a push of a button – growers cannot.

“We need stronger, clearer legislation which will get retailers to commit to being long-term partners, paying growers a fair price and buying British when in season.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Our fruit and vegetable farmers are crucial to the resilience of our food system to the wider economy, with 60 per cent of all the food we need produced in the UK.

“It is only right that British farmers and growers should be paid a fair price and our review into the fairness of the supply chain will help address these concerns.

“That is alongside delivering on our wider commitments from the Farm to Fork Summit, to provide greater stability and resilience for the fresh produce sector.”