Horticultural value chain development - implementation strategy (HG05025)

This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

The horticultural industry was experiencing a period of significant change at the time. The business environment was becoming more challenging and growers were identifying the need to attain additional skills and knowledge to successfully manage their businesses through this period.

Previous supply chain research undertaken by Growcom identified a number of key areas where the development and delivery of training and services could improve the supply chain management, business management and leadership skills of growers.

In this project, research was undertaken to:

• Identify specific industry needs in relation to information, training and support services
• Identify training and services providers that had the capability to meet industry needs
• Identify potential partners and funding sources that could support the industry capability development at an enterprise and industry level
• Investigate successful training and service models developed in other industries and recommend a suitable sustainable model for the horticultural industry

It was recommended that Growcom adopt a brokerage model as a mechanism to deliver information, training and service related to a broad range of supply chain and business management areas, identified by needs analysis undertaken as part of this project.

The proposed model allowed the grower needs to be matched with training and services offered by qualified practitioners that had an understanding of the horticultural industry. This led to improved learning experiences and outcomes, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improved business management.
The delivery of training and services through this model was successfully trialled as part of this project.

Growcom was required to invest resources in staffing, information resource development, trainer and service provider development, marketing and administration and to ensure the success of the initiative. Support through grants and sponsorship needed to also be sought through the implementation phase of this project.

The key benefits of the outcomes of this project included:

• Easy access to qualified training and services for horticultural producers, leading to improved business management and profitability
• Qualified business opportunities for training and service providers
• A sustainable model for the delivery of training and services to the horticultural industry
• A more robust and globally competitive horticultural sector.