The overwhelming majority of farmers, 93 percent, say farm assurance is necessary, important or even critical for their business, according to the results of an independent survey carried out for EFSIS-FABBL, the UK food and farming industry's leading inspection and certification organisation.

Almost all of the farmers surveyed were pleased with the service they received from EFSIS-FABBL.  80 percent rated the competence of the EFSIS-FABBL inspector as good or excellent and 94 percent rated EFSIS-FABBL's administration as good to excellent.

“We're very pleased with the survey results, which show an overwhelming vote of confidence in EFSIS-FABBL and our inspectors,”says Chris Reading, EFSIS-FABBL General Manager of Agriculture UK.  “It shows that our policy of employing inspectors with a high level of experience in agriculture is paying off.  95 percent of our inspectors are farmers' sons or daughters with the other five percent coming from a farming background and all know the sector well.  These results show that farmers appreciate that.”

The results also show that EFSIS-FABBL's one-stop shop approach is a hit.  It was by far the biggest single reason given by farmers for choosing EFSIS-FABBL, singled out by over a third all respondents, far more than for anything else and more than half of those who gave a particular answer.  “We can cover every sector of agriculture,” says Chris Reading.  “These results show that's what farmers want.   By combining inspections for different sectors in one visit we cut down on the number of times a farmer has to deal with inspection of their premises.  We believe that is an important advantage and these results tell us that farmers agree with us.”

The survey also showed that EFSIS-FABBL farmers are committed to farm assurance for the long term.  The majority, 60 percent, had been in a farm assurance scheme for five years or more.  It has paid off.  Over 65 percent of those who expressed an opinion said that farm assurance had increased sales.

“We will be making sure that every farmer who asked for more information gets a call,” says Chris Reading.  “The full survey results will be a valuable tool to make sure we're giving farmers the best possible service.  We're very grateful to all who responded.”

• EFSIS was founded in 1989 when the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) and Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA) joined forces to create a food inspection company

• EFSIS operates in over 70 countries world wide

• EFSIS operates from 9 offices around Europe, based in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Scandinavia, Hungary and one office in Thailand covering the Asia Pacific region

• EFSIS is currently inspecting 65 per cent of all food products worldwide, which are subject to a third party certificated supplier evaluation

• EFSIS has a client base of over 5000 food manufacturers and 25,000 farmers, across 17 different sections of the food industry from fresh produce to fish, poultry, dairy and meat