November 2024 saw the AgriFood Charities Partnership Annual General Meeting held in London.

Ahead of the formal AGM, attendees heard from Lord Curry of Kirkharle, AFCP Patron. The talk on the Agricultural Transition (see report in AFCP News), was well received and lead to lively discussion and questions in a broad range of areas.

We are delighted that Prof. Stuart Reid, President & Principal of the Royal Veterinary College, was elected as AFCP Chairperson from 1^st January 2025.

Prof. Graham Jellis will stand down as Chairperson, and from the AFCP Board, at the end of the year. Graham was thanked for his significant contribution to AFCP over more than a decade.

Subscription rates for the year to 31^st March 2026, payable by all member organisations, were maintained at current levels.

The Board of Trustees is very grateful to Graham Jellis for his engaged and committed service to AFCP as a Board Member, Vice-Chair and Chairperson over the past 14 years.

Graham joined the AFCP Board in 2011, becoming Vice-Chair in 2014 and Chair in 2016. He formally retires from his role at the end of 2024.

Graham brought a wide range of experience from his career in the Plant Breeding Institute Cambridge, Home-Grown Cereals Authority and then Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board. He has been an Honorary Professor at Nottingham University since 1995.

Building relationships within AFCP, its members and wider industry, Graham has actively built collaborations supporting a wide range of individuals and organisations. He has been instrumental in developing a range of activities within AFCP including the biennial AFCP Student Forum and the joint funded AHDB-AFCP Studentships.

We would like to thank Graham for this generous commitment to his role and wish him well in his retirement. Graham continues in his role as Chair of the Grants Committee for the Perry Foundation, an AFCP Member.

Last month, the AFCP AGM was addressed by AFCP Patron, Lord Curry of Kirkharle who highlighted  some of the challenges and opportunities for UK agriculture.

As the Agricultural Transition continues, uncertainty remains high given that we don’t know the    destination of policy. Historically, since the Second World War, policy has swung like a pendulum  between food production and environment. It is clear there is a need to balance these two potential extremes.

The new Government has indicated that food security is important for national security, but there is no answer yet for what that will mean in practice. There are significant competing land pressures, including for food production, environment, housing, and infrastructure projects. Currently there is nothing which indicates the relative priorities for these. The Government commitment to produce a Land Use Framework could help with this if the Government is held to account on it.

Alongside future policy, the engagement with education should continue to be a priority. Through schools, a wider understanding of the importance of food and food production can be supported, alongside supporting the economy, health and careers over the longer term.

An interesting consideration was the potential effect of UK science research which could be incentivised by the application of work rather than/in addition to publication of papers.

Moving forwards, the agricultural industry needs a clear vision, alongside a focus on skills, science and investment, coupled with consideration of existing and future trade deals.