Last week over 120 industry experts and opinion leaders descended on the Brisbane Markets at Rocklea and joined online for the historic Future Fields Summit, to help chart a course for the Queensland fresh produce sector and supply chain over the coming decade.
Growcom is charged with bringing together key stakeholders along the supply chain and guiding the development of the new industry strategic plan, called Future Fields.
As a start to our engagement process the summit was a resounding success, with a wide array of stakeholders and interest groups represented.
Key stakeholders attending included top mandarins from Queensland government departments, senior scientists from research institutions, head sherangs from rural banks, prominent market agents, chiefs from horticulture industry bodies, and business leaders from along the supply chain.
We are now taking Future Fields on the road, running workshops for each of the major horticulture production regions in Queensland, both virtually and in location, so that every grower and supply chain stakeholder will have an opportunity to influence the direction of the strategic plan.
The first workshop will be held next week in Bundaberg on Monday November 1, followed by Mundubbera on Thursday November 4.
The Future Fields tour will also stop in at AgTech21 in Emerald on Wednesday November 3.
The next series of workshops will then start in the north, at Bowen on Monday November 15 before heading up to South Johnstone and Mareeba on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th respectively.
Workshops are also scheduled for southern and south east Queensland early next year.
Whether you can make it to a workshop or not, we're also seeking responses to a short four-question survey. We want to know what your vision is for the future of the industry and supply chain, and how we should measure our success.
We're also keen to understand what one assumption or belief that underpins the current fresh produce supply chain that you think will be most challenged or undermined over the next 10 years.
Those interested in helping shape the future of our fresh produce sector, including by completing the survey or coming to an upcoming regional workshop, can find these details on our landing page: www.futurefields.info.