Focused on supporting growers

Having grown up in the horticulture sector, Arjune Dahya is passionate about supporting growers, and that is the focus of his role as Horticulture New Zealand’s (HortNZ) senior regional and extension representative for Northland, Auckland and Waikato.

The organisation is rolling out a regional representative network aimed at giving growers a strong voice and a more direct link to advocacy and practical support.

The goal is to create a grower-focused regional connection that reflects the different realities facing growers around the country.

“My main focus is engaging with growers to enable support and greater connection with our industry,” says Arjune.

“I regularly go on farm or orchard to engage with growers, and they can contact me at any time for support with issues, questions, or information they require.

“Our team connects growers with targeted resources and technical advice. I see my role as both operational and strategic - providing individual grower support while identifying regional opportunities, risks and emerging issues.”

Following a spell managing a commercial vegetable growing operation in Pukekohe, where he also served on the executive committee of the local vegetable growers’ association, he joined HortNZ three and a half years ago as a regional extension officer for the Growing Change project.

With that project completed, he is enjoying his new challenge, working out of Whangarei and servicing the Auckland, Waikato and Northland regions.

“The regional representative programme was delivered as a two-year pilot and has now been fully rolled out.

“Growers are responding positively to our presence in the regions. In Northland in particular, we experience significant adverse weather events, so a key priority is coordinating responses with local Civil Defence, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Rural Support Trust and other agencies. The focus is on ensuring growers receive timely support while maintaining strong two-way communication and having an industry representative available to share insights and information.

He’s looking forward to meeting more growers across the regions he covers.

“There are many positive outcomes for growers of having a direct link with industry through the regional representative team, providing opportunities to connect with growers at a grass roots level”.

Regional representatives are also closely involved with supporting the goals of the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan (AHAP).

“The AHAP is a strategic framework, led by HortNZ. It has five pillars that focus on supporting the industry to double the farm gate value of horticulture production by 2035. Our role as regional representatives is to connect that national vison and strategy with our growers.

“In the regions, this involves working directly with local growers and iwi to identify projects and opportunities that align with the action plan and support regional growth.

In Northland and Waikato, a major focus is increasing Māori participation in high value horticulture, focused on land development, workforce opportunities and environmental stewardship.

Arjune says the satisfaction of his role is supporting growers to succeed in sustainable production and building profitable businesses.

“I am very passionate about the industry and committed to supporting our growers by ensuring they have a strong voice and an environment where they can thrive.”