The Digital Passport Leadership Group has confirmed the next steps in its Digital Passport engagement programme as it releases the latest, updated version of the Business Case to the combinable crops supply chain.

The initial, industry wide consultation on the passport closed in early February 2024 and generated almost 80 questions. Since then, the Leadership Group, supported by the Development and Data Groups, has been reviewing comments, as well as discussing and updating the Business Case.

Significant, material changes have been made to the Business Case with the principal areas of change as follows:

1. Feedback of quality data to growers is now an obligation – a benefit of a single system solution to grain passport data.
2. Financials have been honed, with additional upside if government funding for the development of the system is secured.
3. A process has been developed allowing growers with no computer or smartphone to use digital passports via the telephone helpdesk.

With the revised Business Case now published and released in time for the annual Cereals event, the Group is encouraging the associations to review with their membership to ascertain support for it. Formal responses from industry bodies are expected in early summer with more information following harvest 2024.

A Leadership Group spokesperson said: “We appreciate industry’s invaluable feedback and patience while we’ve worked through and resolved what were often complex issues.

“Publication of the revised Business Case is an important milestone, which reflects the benefit of a collective development approach we have adopted. We will maintain dialogue with the supply chain as development work continues, with the key next steps securing funding and planning for system implementation.”

The revised business case, along with a full set of answers to all questions raised is available here. Click here to view.

The wide-ranging consultation brought the realisation that industry is not faced with a choice between paper or digital passports. Instead, the choice is whether it’s preferable to have a single, universal industry-wide digital passport, or several different digital passports introduced by processors and merchants to meet their own individual requirements. The Leadership Group believe that the revised business case provides the most comprehensive proposal for an industry-wide digital passport. 

The adoption of a digital passport will be founded on key developments over the coming months, including:

1. Securing grant funding to cover the build, rollout, and initial running costs.
2. Agreement from the AHDB C&O Sector Council that they are prepared to take on responsibility for long-term ownership, management, and funding on behalf of all levy payers.
    

Work on the immediate priorities, funding and long-term system ownership will be advanced during summer 2024, with a post-harvest update to industry due when these discussions conclude.

The Leadership Group is made up of industry representative bodies, including the National Farmers Union, Agricultural Industries Confederation, Maltsters Association of Great Britain, UK Flour Millers and National Farmers Union Scotland.