Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL) is conducting a structural review aiming to maximise returns from grower levies, the company has announced in a media release.
Required under HAL’s Statutory Funding Agreement, the review will evaluate issues including governance practice, membership structure, funding arrangements, the efficiency of levy structure and the levy process.
It will be undertaken by an independent organisation that has yet to be appointed and must be finalised by May 2014.
Selwyn Snell, the chairman of HAL, praised his organisation as playing a key role in supporting the horticulture sector’s growth through research and development and marketing, but recognised their capacity to step up their activities.
“During the past 12 years the industry’s value has tripled to A$9bn (US$8.3bn) and HAL’s members have more than doubled to 43,” Snell said in the media release.
“The growth of HAL has led to a structure that is complex. We invest around A$100m (US$92m) annually in programs across 43 industries, from levies collected through more than 100 different methods.
“We want to improve our structure to one that is more effective and easier to understand. We want to examine how we can make growers’ levies work harder.”
Snell also identified a need to expand horticulture exports and utilise emerging technologies to increase productivity and adapt to climate change.
