Press released issued by Syngenta

Kiwifruit expert Linda Peacock from Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) has been named as one of eight overall winners who were recognised in the Syngenta Growth Awards during a livestream event this week.

Syngenta’s Growth Awards programme was established in 2014 to recognise leading growers, farm advisers and industry innovators from different regions across Australia and New Zealand, showcasing their valuable contribution to the industry.

A pool of over 40 invitation-only nominees was narrowed down to 26 finalists last year, with the overall award recipients revealed this week. Linda is the ninth New Zealand winner since the awards were launched.

Linda, who was recognised in the Sustainability category, was delighted with her award.

“This feels like the Olympics, and I am glad to see New Zealand up on the podium!” she said, noting that it is what you do in the everyday that really matters.

“When you look back over the years, it’s the one little thing you do day after day that makes the difference.”

In accepting her award, Linda acknowledged not only her team at KVH, but the broader industry.

“We are effectively a group of 10 people, and what can 10 people do in an industry? We can’t do it on our own but we’ve got a tremendous network of people around us: technical people, growers, community based learners.”

Linda is passionate about bridging the divide between urban and rural communities and is looking forward to using the platform the Growth Awards provides to start the conversations that need to be had.

Paul Luxton, Country Head and Managing Director Syngenta ANZ, said the standard of nominees, regional winners and national award recipients was as high as it had ever been.

“We are fortunate in both Australia and New Zealand to have a wealth of growers, advisers and industry champions who are forever looking for ways to improve, to find new opportunity, to share insights and ideas and to work for the good of the whole industry,” he said.

“None of us can do this on our own. We need to collaborate like never before, build trust and continue to deliver amazing results.”

In addition to Linda’s Sustainability adviser award, seven other gongs were handed out during a livestream event, including a grower award for Sustainability and both grower and adviser awards for Productivity and Community & People. The final two awards were in the new Innovator category and a Judges’ Choice award. Full details about the awards programme, the categories, and the winners can be found on the Syngenta website.

The Growth Awards support the goals of Syngenta’s Good Growth Plan, which addresses the challenges of producing more with less, protecting the viability of farmland and promoting prosperous rural communities. Syngenta’s commitments to enhancing biodiversity, improving soil health, and helping people stay safe and healthy are underpinned by an investment of $2 billion towards sustainable technology breakthroughs each year by 2025.

About Linda Peacock

Linda is Industry Liaison & Technical Specialist with KVH. She has been in the kiwifruit sector for 30 years in roles ranging from grower to mentor, and her current role focuses strongly on sustainability.

Linda says one of the keys to a sustainable industry is securing resources including land.

"There is a world population out there that needs to be fed and there is an economy that is reliant on primary produce, so agriculture needs to be successful. We need our share of water resources to successfully grow agricultural crops, we need access to labour and strong science funding, and most of all, we need to keep our social licence to operate.”

For more information please visit the Syngenta website.