10fed Mehefin - 16eg Mehefin 2019
Yr wythnos hon fe wnaethom ddathlu #WythnosBlodauPrydain
(#BritishFlowersWeek), dathliad blynyddol o bopeth sy’n ymwneud â Blodau o Brydain, o flodau wedi’u torri, planhigion a dail i’r tyfwyr a’r gwerthwyr blodau annibynnol sy’n gweithio gyda hwy (mwy am hyn isod!). D.S. mae gennym rai tyfwyr blodau gwych yma yng Nghymru, a gallwch ganfod eich tyfwr lleol yma!
Ond beth arall sy’n digwydd yn #?
Yma mae’r prif eitemau newyddion garddwriaeth o’r wythnos....
Cyhoeddwyd yr wythnos hon bod Ocado, yr arbenigwr gwerthu bwyd ar-lein, yn buddsoddi £17 miliwn mewn ffermio uwch-dechnoleg gyda’r nod o dyfu perlysiau a chynnyrch eraill ochr yn ochr â’u canolfannau dosbarthu sy’n cael eu rhedeg gan robotiaid. Mae’r arbenigwr gwerthu bwyd ar-lein wedi gwneud buddsoddiad gwerth 58% yn Jones Food, “fferm fertigol” sy’n tyfu 420 tunnell o fasil, persli a choriander y flwyddyn mewn blychau wedi’u pentyrru o dan 12 cilomedr (7.5 milltir) o oleuadau LED mewn warws yn Scunthorpe.
Cyhoeddwyd y newyddion hwn wrth i Sainsbury’s lansio eu hadroddiad Dyfodol Bwyd cyntaf a oedd yn cynnwys ffermio dan do a ffermio to. Mae’r adroddiad Dyfodol Bwyd yn datgan, erbyn 2025 “bydd lleoedd na fyddent yn cael eu defnyddio fel arall - twneli o dan y ddaear, warysau gwag yn cynnig cyfleoedd newydd” ar gyfer tyfu bwyd mewn ardaloedd trefol. Mae hefyd yn datgan, erbyn 2025, y gallem weld mwy o berlysiau, micro-lysiau gwyrdd, saladau ac egin yn cael eu tyfu ar y safle, boed hynny’n dyfu fertigol neu ar doeau yn cael eu gweld mewn cartrefi, mewn bwytai, ffreuturau ac archfarchnadoedd.
Celebrating #BritishFlowersWeek…
The #BritishFlowersWeek campaign is now in its 7th year, after being established by the New Convent Garden Market to promote the industry. Last year, the hashtag #BritishFlowersWeek was seen by millions of people on social media, reaching 12.7 million people on Twitter and 2.4 million on Instagram. But is the campaign helping the industry to grow? The Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2018 report calculated that UK cut flowers in 2018 had a production value of £121m versus a total value of £860m (the total is worked out as: UK flower production plus cut flower imports minus cut flower exports). It also found that in 2018 14% of flowers sold in the UK were home-grown (based on value). This is in contrast the 2016 NFU report, Backing British Blooms, which estimated the value of UK cut flower production in 2015 at £82m, which equated to 12% of flowers sold in the UK.
To mark #BritishFlowersWeek 2019, Co-op have also become the second supermarket to sign the NFU Plants and Flowers pledge, joining Aldi in assuring fair treatment of all suppliers in accordance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice to British growers.
In order to celebrate #BritishFlowersWeek we took a look at the market by asking, Is the 'Grown not Flown' trend catching on?
Help halve food waste by 2030…
Currently in the UK an estimated 10.2 million tonnes of food and drink worth around £20 billion are wasted annually after leaving the farm gate. This is why around 100 UK agri-food companies and organisations have signed the "Step Up to the Plate" pledge to help halve food waste by 2030.
Sainsbury’s brand director Judith Batchelar said: "Food waste continues to be an urgent and important priority for us to tackle. By working collaboratively with others, from suppliers through to fellow retailers, we can work to eliminate surplus waste within every part of the supply chain process and achieve the impact that we all want to see".
Vouchers for recycled pots...
Black plastic pots cannot be easily recycled. Horticulture Week research has found 87% of councils will not recycle plastic pots from the kerbside but the industry is campaigning to change this. An Essex based plant retailer, Beth Chatto Gardens, has launched the idea of offering customers 5p off plants for every pot returned, which they will then re-use or recycle. Customers will be able to exchange their pots for vouchers to use in store.
Many other retailers are also aiming to support their customers to recycle their used black plastic pots by including recycling stations within the stores. Chair of the Nursery Working Group, David Chilvers from The Bransford Webbs Plant Company, who pioneered the recyclable taupe pot scheme, said: "It is quite incredible to see how much progress has been made since last year’s National Plant Show and really encouraging to see businesses coming together to make a change for the greater good of the industry.
It certainly seems like a great idea to encourage consumers to recycle their pots, but is it an incentive that is needed, or is just having the facilities to recycle available enough?
Launch of Pumpkin Network
This week we were very excited to launch the new ‘Tyfu Cymru Pumpkin Network’. The networks first study tour took place at Kenyon Hall Farm, a farm shop, cafe, plant centre and pick your own experience near Warrington, England. This gave members of the pumpkin network the opportunity to gain insights, knowledge and to learn about the PYO experience. We would like to thank Kenyon Hall Farm for sharing your experiences and insights.
The launch of the Pumpkin Network is part of 3 new networks being launched. You can read more about the networks here, and its not too late to join, simply complete the online business review on our website, stating which network you would like to join to apply.
We will be back next week with our next weekly round-up, but in the meantime you can keep up to date with our latest news and events by following us on: Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin.