Sweetpotato Emerging Leaders Program (PW21001)
What's it all about?
This three-year investment is delivering a leadership program to build capability within the sweetpotato industry. The program will grow participants’ professional knowledge and skills, raise their awareness of innovation and help them gain insights into how they can manage their businesses better.
This leadership, mentoring and innovation training will offer 15 emerging industry leaders a series of networking and capacity building experiences where they will engage with shared language and mentoring experiences in order to build trust whilst experiencing exponential personal development.
Delivery of the program will be through a mixture of lectures, group discussions, role-playing and presenting, coupled with participants engaging in public speaking, team projects and value chain tours and visits. Each attendee will complete three projects during the program – an individual purpose plan and workplace projects.
For more information, please get in touch with the Australian Sweetpotato Grower’s Association at aspg.sec@gmail.com.
The principal activity in the first year of the Sweetpotato Emerging Leaders program was a highly successful Sydney supply chain study tour. In May 2022 an expression of interest (EOI) call was made across all Australian sweetpotato growers with 14 emerging leaders selected.
In mid-August 2022, sweetpotato emerging leaders led by the Australian Sweetpotato Growers Executive Officer undertook a three-day Sydney study tour. Day one commenced with a tour of the Flemington fresh produce markets. The growers met with market agents and heard from an exporter the true costs and challenges of exporting. In the afternoon, the growers visited Hort Innovation’s Head Office and heard research and marketing updates from eight speakers including the CEO.
The growers met in store with the national produce managers for Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi as well as completing a tour of an Aldi Distribution Centre. The growers also visited Hydro Produce’s extensive vegetable packing facilities at the markets and Silverwater. This was followed by a visit to a Harris Farm store which included a manager’s presentation.
This project is a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Sweetpotato Fund