• Research reveals 49% of fruit and veg farmers fear closure within 12 months, with supermarket buying behaviour a leading cause
• #GetFairAboutFarming campaign launched to encourage the leading 'Big Six' supermarkets to adopt fairer principles for farmers
• Open Letter calls on supermarkets to take action and a petition demanding the government do more has been backed by leading industry bodies and several MPs
• Notable signatures include entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, conservationist Ray Mears, TV presenters Julia Bradbury, Chris Packham & Jimmy Doherty, and chefs Rick Stein & Melissa Hemsley

For immediate release: Dragon's Den star Deborah Meaden, chef Rick Stein and wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham are among a host of names supporting a campaign urging supermarkets to give a fairer deal to the UK's struggling farmers.

It comes as half (49%) of British fruit and vegetable farmers say it's likely they will go out of business in the next 12 months, and many blame supermarkets and their buyers as a leading threat to their livelihoods, according to new research by organic veg box company, Riverford.

Supermarkets and their buyers are accused of not paying on time, pursuing cheaper food alternatives from overseas, and cancelling or changing orders at the last minute, with farmers also criticising fruit and veg specifications for being too hard and complex. 

Three quarters (75%) surveyed say the behaviour of supermarkets is a leading concern within the industry. According to the research, one in five farmers (22%) say they have suffered a wasted crop due to cancelled orders from supermarkets, 29% have also received a cancelled order from supermarkets with no explanation and just under a third (29%) have seen supermarkets failing to pay them within 30 days.

However, 70% of farmers surveyed agreed it would have a positive impact if buyers paid the amount initially agreed, and did not then slash prices after the initial agreement. A further 64% agreed it would have a positive impact if buyers bought everything they committed to buy.

Pembrokeshire potato farmer Tessa Elliott, said: "It's scary because we have to ask ourselves 'what is it all for then'? Why are we putting in all these hours and doing what we love - ultimately to grow a premium potato to put on people's plates all year round - if we can't afford to feed ourselves?"

An open letter addressed to the CEOs of the nation's 'Big Six' supermarkets - Ken Murphy (Tesco), Simon Roberts (Sainsbury's), Stuart Rose (Asda), David Potts (Morrisons), Giles Hurley (Aldi), and Ryan McDonnell (Lidl) is now calling for supermarkets to treat farmers more fairly, signed by over 100 leading figures. Industry bodies like Sustain and The Soil Association have backed the call to action, while other notable signatures include entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, conservationist Ray Mears, JLS singer and farmer JB Gill, Mumford and Sons singer and farmer Marcus Mumford, TV presenters Chris Packham, Julia Bradbury and Jimmy Doherty, of Jimmy's Farm, and chefs Rick Stein, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Melissa Hemsley. 

The letter is part of a new #GetFairAboutFarming campaign, launched by Riverford, calling for supermarkets to adopt better business practices to safeguard the future of British fruit and veg farming, starting with committing to Riverford's Fair to Farmers charter principles of;

o    Pay what you agreed to pay.

o    Buy what you committed to buy

o    Agree on fair specifications

o    Commit for the long term

o    Pay on time

The charter was devised by founder Guy Singh-Watson to lay down ethical business practices among growers and farmers, to ensure a fair deal is always achieved. Now, the company wants supermarkets to adopt the principles as a way of spreading fair trade across farming more widely. 

Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford Organic says: "British Agriculture is on its knees, and that's why most small family farms think that they're not going to be in business the next generation. Is that what we want from our countryside? Is that what we want from our food system? Is that what we want from farmers? Farmers need to be treated fairly; they need some commitment from supermarkets.

"Sustainable trading relationships are based on co-operation, good communication and trust as much as competition. A brutal, short-term focus on annual price negotiations is supporting supermarket margins while destroying British farming along with the landscape, wildlife and rural communities it once supported. 

"Exploitation of family farms, the march to scale and the destruction of our countryside is not an inevitable result of a free market; it is driven by unbalanced trading relationships, deceitful marketing, externalised costs and a government that has abdicated responsibility in the hell bent pursuit of cheap food at any cost. Given the information, all polls show the British public wants better and would even pay a little more if they knew it went to support better farming."   

Riverford's new research also showed farmers are currently being squeezed from all angles, including battling the impact of climate change on crops, the loss of post Brexit government subsidies and rising input costs. IIn the face of unprecedented pressures, 67% of fruit and veg farmers surveyed agree that making a living through farming has never been harder and 61% fear that they won't have a farm to pass on to future generations.

And it's not just supermarkets; over half (54%) of horticultural farmers believe farming sits on the bottom of the government's list of priorities, with risks in future government support (28%), alongside crops failing due to weather extremes (29%), being among the top three concerns facing the industry, it is clear the government needs to do more. 

Current government policies in place to protect farmers from supermarket buying behaviour are inadequate and rarely enforced, says Riverford. Fruit and veg farmers agree, with 69% saying tougher regulations are required to redress the imbalance of power between farmers and the supermarkets and their buyers. For example, 64% of farmers surveyed said that having a commitment for the long-term would have a very significant positive impact on their business. 

To this end, Riverford has also launched a petition calling on the government to intervene and protect Britain's broken food system from further collapse. People can show their support for farmers by signing the petition here: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643216.

A petition to support farmers can be signed by visiting: https://getfairaboutfarming.co.uk/