UK – British Growers Association (BGA) has been appointed as secretariat of the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) taking place in January 2024.
Pauline Sutton, client manager at the BGA, will be heading up the secretariat team responsible for the event’s administration, ticket sales and outreach programs (Inspire, Scholars and Bursaries), as well as the wider organization and management of the board.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with The Oxford Farming Conference, a prestigious annual event which brings together the farming industry to discuss and debate big issues,” said Lisa Eagles, MD of the BGA.
“The Oxford Farming Conference secretariat appointment enhances our portfolio of clients, and we look forward to developing a strong partnership.”
British Growers join Hawk AV, Jane Craigie Marketing (JCM), and Clare Greener as partners and sponsors of the event.
The theme for the conference on 3-5 January at the Oxford Examination Halls is the ‘Power of Diversity’. The event aims to celebrate all aspects of diversity, including people, farming systems, genetics, and markets. In line with the mission of the OFC, it will also explore the diversity of thought and opinion.
Chair of OFC24, Will Evans – a 45-year-old Welsh beef and arable farmer – praised British Growers for taking on the “key role” of conference secretariat.
“I’m delighted to be working with British Growers,” said Evans. “They bring a wealth of experience to this key role and it’s great to know that with them at the helm all the information will be in place for a fantastic conference.”
According to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the agriculture sector in the United Kingdom is fast growing with highly mechanized and efficient routines by European standards.
“It accounts for little more than 0.5% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP),” reads the report.
The sector constitutes a key supply source for the country’s food consumption needs. As of 2022, just over 18.1 million hectares of land were used for agriculture in the UK.
This figure has slightly decreased in the past few years and peaked at around 18.8 million in 2017. The agricultural sector contributed more than 12.1 billion British pounds in gross value added (GVA) to the national economy in 2021.
For all the latest fresh produce industry news updates from Africa, the Middle East, and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
