HortNZ celebrates 20 Years

HortNZ was formed in December 2005 through the merger of three long-standing grower bodies: the NZ Fruitgrowers Federation, the NZ Vegetable and Potato Growers and the Berryfruit Federation.

Guests included past presidents and staff of the organisation down through the years including Andrew Fenton who was the first chair of the new body.

He spoke about the challenges and hard work that was put into getting the various groups to come together and says it was a case of putting personal interests aside and focusing on the goal of the power of having one voice for the sector.

The function was hosted by the Minister of Horticulture, Nicola Grigg, who says horticulture is an exciting sector to be involved in as it continues to increase its contribution to the NZ economy.

“The growth trajectory coming out of horticulture is incredible and some new numbers coming out soon will reinforce that,” she says.

HortNZ chair Bernadine Guilleux said the goal at the time of the merger was to unite growers and ensure they had a strong, effective voice.

“Twenty years on, the value of critical mass and co-ordinated, cross-sector effort is clear. Horticulture has grown from 8% of primary sector exports in 2005 to 14% today,” she says.

Guilleux says major milestones over the past two decades include the creation of the RSE scheme, the development NZ GAP, and industry-wide responses to shocks such as Covid-19 and the Psa outbreak in kiwifruit.

She says the total area under horticultural production has increased and has been shaped by innovation and technology.