New Industry Group to set out business case for digital grain passport

The concept of a DGP has been discussed in the arable sector for over 10 years, with previous versions being voted down by farmers for being too complicated, or not better than the current paper system.

However, this group had been setting out the practicalities, costs and benefits of a DGP so that future electronic models were more suited to sector needs. This will be part of a business case to enable a decision to be taken by the sector on whether the DGP should proceed or not.

The group believed the industry was sensing a growing opportunity to further modernise the way information is sent through combinable crop supply chains. It said one of the benefits to a digital system would be universally returning weight and quality data back through supply chains to growers.

In addition, the group stated that transparent and free flow of crop data from grower to first receiver would be done in a safe and secure way.

READ MORE: NFU Scotland withdraws support for digital grain passports

A digital means of data sharing up and down supply chains would drive efficiencies by improving data accuracy and sharing data in real time, said the group. This would enhance the industry’s ability to meet its obligations and responsibilities under the requirements of assurance schemes as well as food and feed safety legislation.

The DGP group has now progressed into two groups, one focusing on development matters and one on data usage and governance, with the aim of making is easy to use and satisfy all users’ needs. They will also establish an agreement on what data needs to be collected and contained within the system.

Last year, following grass-roots discussion with members, NFU Scotland withdrew its support for DGPs. The committee discussed the pros and cons of it in detail before finding that, on balance, the cons outweighed the pros. It had also discussed DGPs with members in the regions.