§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's policy for encouraging the competitiveness of the UK horticultural industry with regard to other EU countries, in relation to the production of flowers for sale in supermarkets; and if he will make a statement. [63240]
§ Mr. RookerWe are actively encouraging the competitiveness of UK horticulture through a research programme worth over £20 million, made up of contributions from the Agriculture Departments and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. Over £1.7 million of this is concerned directly or indirectly with ornamental horticulture.
The Ministry funds a strategic R&D programme which includes research into scheduling, improved quality and crop protection of both protected and outdoor flower crops. Specifically there is an on-going project with Horticulture Research International at Kirton to develop a framework for predicting the productivity, quality and availability of outdoor flower crops; this is now in its third year (of five) with a total cost of £385,000.
The Ministry has recently placed a project through open competition with a consortium led by The University of Wales, Cardiff, investigating the biochemistry of post-harvest deterioration of cut flowers with the objective 415W of improving vaselife. The project will last three years at a total cost of £258,000. The Ministry also plays a full part in securing promotional funding from the European Commission which has as its objective the increase in demand for flowers and plants in the UK and a consequent 416W increase in the sales of British produce. The UK allocation for year one of the scheme (1997–98) was £801,052 (1,079,119 ecu) and £603,833 (867,907 ecu) for year two (1998–99). But additional funding for this year is expected to be available shortly.