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Federated Farmers president Dr William Rolleston.
Federated Farmers president Dr William Rolleston has been appointed acting president of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) at a meeting in Geneva.
Dr Rolleston has been the WFO’s vice president and will guide the organisation though until the next general assembly in Helsinki 2017 during which a new president will be appointed.
"It’s a privilege to be appointed to this role in an acting capacity. The WFO actively promotes the critical importance of a sustainable global farming sector for the future of our planet,” says Dr Rolleston.
"The WFO is the global voice of farming and partners with the public and private sector to improving farmer’s efficiency and effectiveness in the value chain.
"It helps to overcome the global and local barriers to resource and market access."
Dr Rolleston will now be more involved in the many activities, events, policy proposals and advocacy work that WFO is conducting on behalf of its members.
"Some of WFO’s current work includes world food security, climate change policy and practice, WFO’s Strategic Plan 2018-2028 and a number of policy initiatives."
Dr Rolleston farms in the South Island and operates a family owned biological manufacturing business there supplying biologicals to pharmaceutical, diagnostic and research industries around the world.
He has held board positions relating to agriculture, science and economic development and sits on the New Zealand Government’s Science Board.
He was the founding chairman of New Zealand’s Biotechnology Industry Organisation (now NZBio) and of the Life Sciences Network - an umbrella organisation of science and industry organisations who advocated for science based regulation of genetic modification.
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