Supermarket and Farmer in Harmony Is the Way Ahead ; the Voice of the Westcountry

Summary

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The Western Morning News is always ready to stand up for Westcountry farmers and criticise those other links in the food chain who we believe are profiting at their expense. And that, as regular readers will be well aware, includes the big four supermarkets. But if we are happy to hurl the brickbats we should also be prepared to hand out the bouquets. So step forward Sainsbury's who have this week announced plans to invest Pounds 40million in farming over the next three years in a big to boost its rural supply chain.

Britain's third biggest grocery retailer deserves the bunch of flowers because it now treats the primary producers of much of our food and drink not as some minnow involved in the process of putting dinner on the table who can be relentlessly squeezed to boost profits elsewhere but as a key player who needs to be nurtured and encouraged for the benefit of all. We are not so naive as to imagine Sainsbury's is acting entirely out of a sense of largesse for the farming community. It clearly sees its Pounds 40m - and the Pounds 21m already invested - as money wisely spent. Establishing farming development groups, which is what this cash is for, will help to improve efficiency, ensure continuity of supply and make certain that all the non-farming aspects of running a food supply business, like training and IT, can be covered.

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Supermarket and Farmer in Harmony Is the Way Ahead ; the Voice of the Westcountry

Supermarkets are in business primarily to make a profit for their share holders.

The...

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