Farmers are often left with less than 1p of profits for their produce if they supply supermarkets, a new report has found. The report, by campaign group Sustain, tracked everyday food items, including apples, cheese, burgers, carrots and bread, and found farmers are left with little after middlemen and supermarkets have taken their cut. According to the analysis, for a wrapped, sliced loaf of bread, the farmer spends 9.03p in production, yet receives an almost negligible profit (0.09p) on a selling price of £1.14. For a loaf made bought in an independent bakery, they make 0.5p profit, while profit made by the baker also sustains a local economy. For 1kg of carrots purchased in a supermarket, the carrot grower would have spent 14p, yet receives negligible profit with prices so low that margins across the carrot supply chain are tiny. Carrots are a common loss leader in supermarkets. For four beefburgers the processor gains ten times the profit of the beef farmer. By contrast, in shorter chains run by social enterprises like vegetable box schemes, co-ops and food hubs, more value reached farmers and their workers. “It is astonishing how little of the money we pay for our food ends up in the hands of the farmers and growers. Farmers carry a lot of risk and work in difficult conditions to put food on our table,” said @vickihird, head of farming at Sustain. “If we’re to give our farmers the chance to change how we produce food, they need to keep more of the value so they can invest and use new approaches. We should not let intermediaries and food buyers hold all the bargaining chips.” Lead researcher on the report, Professor Lisa Jack, from the University of Portsmouth, said: “Our food systems have very high production and overhead costs, yet what profits there are, could be shared more fairly along the supply chain, supporting not just affordable food but better incomes for those working in the industry.” The report said paying farmers more would not require end food prices to rise, the group said, and outlined recommendations around strengthening different routes to market and more rules around paying farmers fairly.