Dr Andrew Granger is general manager for science, breeding and genomics at New Zealand-based research and development group Plant & Food Research
Fruitnet.com: How did you first get into the fresh produce business?
Dr Andrew Granger: At 13 years old, I began working for a local market gardener for A$1 an hour, growing, harvesting, packing and marketing cherries, plums, lemons, cauliflowers, lettuce and cabbages. On market days I had to rise at 2am to head to the East End wholesale markets in Adelaide, South Australia, where I would deliver orders to buyers pulling an old wooden handbarrow.
When did you start working for Plant & Food Research?
I emigrated from Australia to New Zealand almost six years ago to take up a position with HortResearch. In 2008, that company and Crop & Food Research merged to form Plant & Food Research, and I maintained my position as general manager of breeding and genomics.
Where did you work before?
I worked for 21 years for the South Australian government, leading the national tree crop breeding programmes.
What do you see as the biggest challenge currently facing the fresh produce industry?
At the end of the day, any industry has to be profitable. So the challenge is to understand if the category they are growing is a commodity or a premium-quality product in order to determine how production should be structured. Having said that, all production systems must be sustainable. As such, producers need to move from a mindset of effectively mining a resource until it is exhausted to a custodial mindset driven by the responsible and efficient use of soil, water and carbon resources.
What’s the first thing you do when you sit down at your desk?
I say good morning to my executive assistant Jennifer and start to map out our day, that is if I am in the office. Among other things, I am responsible for eight regional research centres and 250 staff, so I am often on the road, meeting with staff, conducting our various breeding programmes.
What is your favourite item of fresh produce and where is it from? Explain your choice.
My favourite item is fresh, sweet cherries from the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The soils and climate or terroir are ideally suited to produce tasty, large, mahogany-coloured fruit. They ripen during the festive season in South Australia and, having grown up in the Adelaide Hills, I always associated the fruit with happy days. Close runners-up would be red raspberries and mangoes.
What do you love in particular about your job and what, if anything, would you change?
One, the people. Two, some of the people.
What do you do to unwind after a tough day at work?
Work tends to dominate 24/7. In the evenings I prepare for the travails of the next day. The fresh produce industry faces major issues that require a considered strategic approach for a long-term solution and a short-term response to minimise the impact. It’s a cliche, but there are not enough hours in the day. So what tends to give way is wind-down time.
No comments yet