AHDB Potatoes chair Fiona Fell is stepping down when her term comes to an end in March 2017 after three years in the position.
A search for her successor has begun, Defra said, with priorities stated as first and foremost as a member of the AHDB board, as well as leading the potatoes board with ongoing projects such as Strategic Potato (SPot) Farms, Next Generation Scheme, PhDs and Fellowships, and cross-sector work on soils.
Based in Northumberland, Fell has worked for nine years for AHDB, including six as an independent member of the potato board, and three as a main AHDB board member and chair of the AHDB Potato Board.
She said: “It is a real privilege to have had the opportunity to develop the potential of AHDB and to lead the Potato Sector Board. I appreciate the hard work and commitment that the Potato Board members and all the staff have put in, particularly over the last 18 months during the AHDB restructure.”
AHDB chairman Peter Kendall said: “I thank Fiona for her contribution to the work of the Board during this period of change and the passion and thoughtful energy she put into the role.”
Fell said it is an exciting time for her successor, who will need to deliver a fresh strategy at a time when agriculture, horticulture and the food industry need AHDB to help meet the challenges of a changing market both domestically and in terms of export opportunities.
“It has been very satisfying seeing new ways of working to deliver benefits to levy payers,” she said. “Enhancing the exchange of knowledge between growers and scientists via the Strategic Potato (SPot) Farms, and winning external funding to further modernise the facilities at Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research are recent achievements.'
Fell, who trained as a vet, is currently on the Board of CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock) and the Advisory Board of Newcastle University's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. She also holds several positions in the charitable sector.
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