Economic Growth

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO

Twice during the last week I have been part of discussions on the barriers to economic growth. It was interesting to hear about the constraints in various industries, but what struck me, is that every industry appears to be viewed in isolation. The local agricultural industry is a case in point.

A key challenge  facing local farmers is access to markets. Major retail chains procure on a national basis, which means that it is difficult for local emergent growers to supply them. There were also representatives from the tourism industry present, and as I looked from one to the other, I thought how critical it is for us to find creative solutions, rather than to keep trying to force the spring-loaded doors open.

If we can’t get the produce to the people through conventional  channels, then why don’t we try and get the people to the produce?   I began to think about the possibility of developing a “fresh produce route”, and it really appealed to me. To my mind,  many people would  enjoy packing their baskets in their cars and taking their families to various Midlands farms to pick their own vegetables.

It also opens up market opportunities  for agri-processed goods. There used to be a strawberry farm in this area, where you could go strawberry picking, and it was very popular. A strawberry farm could sell fresh strawberries, strawberry cheesecakes, strawberry jams and so on.  I’m  not suggesting that this is the answer, but I do think that it’s time for more “out-of-the-box  think-tanking”, and that we need to look at the whole picture.

It also struck me that we need to look at the whole value-chain of critical industries. The textile industry has many challenges, not least of which, currently, is the price of cotton. Last season it wasn’t viable for farmers to grow cotton – there was so much available, that the price that farmers could demand was very low, so a large number of farmers moved out of growing cotton. But recent floods in Pakistan destroyed  a large number of their cotton crops, creating a major world shortage and  a consequent spike in price. If we were growing enough of our own cotton to supply local industry, then our local industry would be protected – how we make this viable, I’m not sure, but we should surely be looking at such measures?

Beef farmers were saying that it is too expensive  to produce beef, and the downstream consequences are struggling abattoirs and tanneries and  a limited and relatively expensive supply of local leather for footwear production.  There are a number of local clothing and textile factories that employ a signficant number of people, and if they are to be sustainable, then to my mind, we need to look at opportunities in the whole value stream.

My point is, having identified the core sectors where we want to simulate growth, let’s look up and down the process stream, as well as across industries, to identify opportunities.

Leave a Comment