ZESPRI International is launching a scholarship programme as part of this year's New Zealand kiwifruit industry's centennial celebrations to encourage secondary school leavers to pursue a tertiary qualification and career in horticulture.
Seven scholarships, valued at $3,000 each, will be offered annually to high calibre secondary school students from the main kiwifruit growing regions who intend to study fulltime for a degree or diploma in horticulture at a New Zealand university or polytechnic.
"Products, pride and passion are our strength, our heritage, our reason for celebrating not just an industry but the people who have built it and the people who are living it every day," ZESPRI Chairman Craig Greenlees said in announcing the programme in Wanganui where Isabel Fraser, credited with introducing Chinese gooseberry seeds to New Zealand in 1904, had been headmistress of Wanganui Girls College.
Today's billion dollar kiwifruit export industry can trace its origins to the handful of seeds brought back from Yichang in China by Isabel Fraser, nurtured by Alexander Allison, cultivated by Hayward Wright and eventually commercially planted in Te Puke by Jim MacLoughlin and the Bayliss brothers. The first Chinese gooseberries, as kiwifruit were then called, were exported in 1952 and from those small beginnings a major new industry and New Zealand's biggest horticultural export earner was born.
"The New Zealand kiwifruit industry has a rich past and a successful present with a sixth consecutive record financial performance in 2003-2004 and acknowledgement by our peers of being the category leader world wide, established first with ZESPRI GREEN™ Kiwifruit and now extended with exclusive ZESPRI GOLD™ Kiwifruit. But we cannot be complacent. We must also build a strong and vibrant future,'[ Mr Greenlees said. "Fostering and supporting the education of young people wishing to pursue a career in horticulture is one way ZESPRI can secure the legacy and help create a sustainable future for the kiwifruit industry.
"It is therefore fitting that in the year the New Zealand kiwifruit industry celebrates its first 100 years, we will for the first time, offer seven scholarships to secondary school students choosing to study horticulture at a New Zealand tertiary institute. The scholarships will be offered at the end of each school year for study in the following year."
Zespri International's alliance with HortResearch
A hundred years after kiwifruit were first brought to New Zealand ZESPRI is now the world's largest kiwifruit marketer. HortResearch is a crown research institute and a world leader in fruit science. The new alliance between them grants ZESPRI intellectual property ownership of ZESPRI Gold™ and all new cultivars developed by HortResearch. HortResearch will also be ZESPRI's principal provider of research services.
Marketing and science took a step closer to each other with the signing of this new operating agreement between ZESPRI and HortResearch this week. This alliance strengthens the platform for New Zealand's largest horticultural exporter with sales of close to a billion dollars.
ZESPRI Chief Executive Tim Goodacre said, "The agreement clearly demonstrates ZESPRI's commitment to create wealth for New Zealand grower shareholders through long term investment in innovation. We have aligned ourselves with HortResearch as our exclusive breeder because HortResearch has the world's best germplasm resources and has a proven track record in successful kiwifruit research. This is also about two New Zealand businesses working together to enhance the viability of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry over the long term. The new agreement is effective from 1 April."
The global success of the HortResearch cultivar ZESPRI GOLD™ is proof of what can be achieved, with current sales of up to $170m in just seven years since it was first planted.
The kiwifruit industry continues to grow with ZESPRI forecasting sales for the year to 31 March to be $930m, 11 percent higher than last year. Significantly higher volumes and prices are being achieved in Europe and Japan.
Early harvest this year
in 2004 the kiwifruit harvest is earlier than ever. This is great news because early delivery is critical for success in overseas trading.
