When Linda Peacock received her award from Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor she told the Wellington audience that a key part of her work involves providing a link between growers and researchers to ensure the collaboration the industry is renowned for continues.
“I talk to people,” Peacock said.
“I help people on the land understand what some of the big words mean and I tell scientists what those people want and have to know, so they can do what they do.
“It’s all about linkages and collaboration.”
Not only does she provide technical and leadership support and help develop kiwifruit biosecurity research initiatives, Peacock is integral to the next steps of those research projects – interpreting outcomes and converting them into practical messages for growers and others in the industry.
Over the years she has held a wide variety of roles in the industry, from picking fruit on a family orchard as a teenager to 10 years as technical manager at Direct Management Services (DMS) Progrowers, a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit and avocado orchard management and post-harvest operation.
From there she joined Kiwifruit Vine Health, a biosecurity organisation that supports the kiwifruit industry in its recovery from Psa – a bacteria that can lead to the death of kiwifruit vines – and ensuring future resilience from similar threats.
Peacock’s experience has not only helped develop industry-wide knowledge, it’s been essential in building trust, an essential element in her current role.
She is a dedicated liaison and technical support specialist at the centre of growers, post-harvest organisations, contractors, merchants, researchers, technical advisors, interest groups, regional councils and others working towards biosecurity knowledge and best practice management of Psa.
In a nutshell, being a conduit between growers and researchers.
Peacock says the kiwifruit industry has a strong history of being well supported by science, as growers appreciate how important it is.
For that relationship to work effectively, it is important to be clear from the outset what the purpose of research is, what value it will provide.
She says the industry works on an 80:20 rule, that is, if research is going to be undertaken there needs to be an 80% chance that it will result in something practical that growers can work with.
That’s why growers are included in steering groups that help determine the direction of research.
“Having them (growers) involved from the beginning helps to sort out the wheat from the chaff,” she said.
Another aspect of her job is managing KiwiNet, the industry’s network of about 100 biosecurity champions who look to foster and share knowledge about biosecurity.
Those involved also coordinate the deployment of resources into biosecurity responses, such as during the Auckland fruit fly outbreak in 2019 where 41 people contributed almost 700 “people days” into response operations.
Peacock says the network was born out of a post-Psa review that found the industry was not focused enough on biosecurity and despite NZ’s relative isolation in an ocean at the bottom of the world, there were still exposure risks.
Building on lessons learned from the Psa experience and work already done in this area by the forestry industry, which was further down the track in developing biosecurity preparedness plans, KiwiNet members began by looking at what potential pests and diseases that could be threats to the kiwifruit industry, what sort of impacts they could have and what could be put in place on a daily basis to deal with different scenarios if the industry found itself in that position.
Workshops are held twice a year so attendees can continue to build their knowledge, share ideas and expertise, and lift biosecurity expectations.
There are also podcasts and articles that go into industry journals and newsletters. It’s all about sharing information.
While a lot has changed since Psa arrived, Peacock says it is important to remember the lessons learned from the experience and not to allow complacency to creep in following the industry’s success so far in dealing with it.
As part of that, she is keen to push ahead with the new Pathway Management Plan, which has been consulted on across the kiwifruit during the past year.
She says after the Psa incursion the industry responded with a regulatory plan to deal with it. However, that plan only has a 10-year lifespan, which expires in 2023 and is solely focused on Psa.
“The industry now has an opportunity to move forward and improve on what it knows by retaining the benefits of the current plan across the industry, but (also to) broaden its focus to include a wider range of pests,” she said.
As kiwifruit growing expands and moves into new geographic areas containing other crops there will be a new set of challenges and the industry needs to be prepared for them.
The Pathway Management Plan aims to help by establishing a new set of rules while also developing new tools and resources to help growers protect their investments.
It’s hoped that after submitting the proposed plan to O’Connor, and going through the parliamentary process, it will be implemented as part of the Biosecurity Act by April 2022.
Peacock says once that is in place the kiwifruit industry will be better placed to meet whatever future biosecurity challenges arrive.
