Outside body

A partnership between Agricultural and Horticultural Businesses and Organisations supported by Lincolnshire County Council within the Greater Lincolnshire region. The purpose of the (G)LFFAH will be to enable farming, rural businesses, and rural communities to become more sustainable, economically, environmentally, and socially, the forum will act as a broadly based voice for the rural community.

Following a review of the agriculture and horticulture sector in Greater Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire County Council has relaunched the Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture.

The objectives of the forum will be:

·   To create a two-way channel of communication with Lincolnshire County Council, and ultimately the Combined Authority following Devolution, to influence the local and national agenda in respect of farming and rural issues affecting Greater Lincolnshire by:

·   Championing farming and rural issues and promoting opportunities which may develop solutions to problems.

·   Delivering a collective regional voice of local farming and rural stakeholders to inform decision making about how to best support a thriving and sustainable agriculture and horticulture sector.

·   Providing advice on issues, concerns and good practice to DEFRA, Local Authorities, and others as necessary.

·   Providing relevant evidence and intelligence to empower the Chair to have effective one-to-one dialogue with the DEFRA Ministerial team and other ministers as appropriate.

Cllr Colin Davie, Executive Councillor for Economy, Environment and Planning at the County Council, said: “This is a vitally important sector - for Lincolnshire’s economy and the nation’s food security. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to support the set up of this new forum to make sure that our farmers and growers have a strong voice.

“The council supports farmers in multiple ways – from supporting with legislation and compliance, to training and business advice. We’ve now brought all of that together in one place in our bid to protect this sector and see farming businesses thrive and excel.”

Details of the support available can be found at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/KeepLincolnshireGrowing