Hosted by Navaratnam Partheen, British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society, in conversation with other speakers.

The Northern Real Farming Conference is exploring the challenges, vision and future of food and farming. The strength of agriculture is not only based on its methodology, processes and output but also in the people engaged, who make this sector what it is today. In such a diverse country, that we are lucky and fortunate to live in, we find that our sector does not reflect this richness. Equity and diversity is essential if we want an industry that attracts and keeps the best and brightest talent and which can effectively serve the country in the future. Improving the diversity and inclusivity of agriculture would help bring more people together from all backgrounds and so allow the public to relate to their food and understand the sector more. This discussion will explore these important themes with a focus on Race and Ethnicity. Topics discussed will include understanding the barriers to racial diversity and ideas on how we should move forward if we are to have a welcoming and attractive sector for all. The speakers are all involved in different areas of agriculture and bring a wealth of personal experiences and ideas to the discussion.

Speakers/hosts:

Navaratnam Partheeban is a dairy vet and has previously taught at the Royal Agricultural University. He is the co-founder of the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society (BVEDS) which aims to promote, support and educate on issues of race and ethnicity in the veterinary profession and agricultural sector

Uma Selvon is a 4^th year veterinary medicine student from the University of Surrey. Since starting placements at uni, she has become an aspiring farm or mixed practice vet as has loved working with large animals. She is proud to join this panel as diversity and inclusion in agriculture is still a big issue and it sometimes puts her off joining the community, so she would like to see it begin to change.