UK ministers re-appoint Nicholas Saphir as chair of the AHDB

Mr Saphir (above) announced he is “delighted to extend my term as Chair of the AHDB”.

Mr Saphir, who was originally appointed as AHDB Chair in 2020, will remain in the role until the end of March 2024.

This is a Ministerial appointment, made by the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which has been approved by Ministers in the Scottish Government and Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.

AHDB Chair, Nicholas Saphir, said: “I’m delighted to extend my term as Chair of the AHDB at this defining time for UK agriculture. The AHDB has a vital role to play in helping our levy payers meet the challenges that lie ahead. The organisation has been through a radical period of change including delivering better value and more targeted services, which levy payers have highlighted as priorities.

“The recent launch of the new strategies for the Beef & Lamb, Cereals and Oilseeds, Dairy and Pork sectors underpin our commitment to listen and deliver. I look forward to being part of the next stage of the journey in facing up to the challenges and helping levy payers take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.”

AHDB Chief Executive, Tim Rycroft, said: “Nicholas’ agricultural and commercial experience has been invaluable in helping me restructure and re-focus AHDB to deliver better value. The AHDB team and I are looking forward to continuing working with him on the next stage of that journey.”

Nicholas Saphir has a wide background in agriculture and horticulture, having built and been engaged in running public companies farming and processing food in the UK, Europe, Southern Africa and South America. He also has a long and successful record of chairing industry and government bodies in the food and farming sector, including being the chairman of the Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Cooperation, founder chairman of Food from Britain, president of the Fresh Produce Consortium and chairman of the Agricultural Forum.

This appointment is governed by the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments, and is made on merit. In accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. As part of the appointment process the appointee did not declare any political activity.

Mr Saphir will receive a non-pensionable remuneration of £55,000 per annum, based on a minimum time commitment of 104 days per year. Reasonable travel expenses are also paid.