New Zealand’s fight against kiwifruit vine disease PSA has received a major boost with the announcement of significant financial sponsorship.

The global Kiwifruit Vine Health/Zespri Psa research and development programme, has been advanced with sponsorship from rural bank, ANZ National as well as a contribution from Rabobank and further financial backing by the Te Puke Fruitgrowers Association, The Green Growers Association and Alto Packaging.

Zespri’s Psa innovation general manager, Dr David Tanner, said the sponsorships were a sign of confidence in the progress being made by the Psa R&D programme. He said: “It is great that ANZ National and Rabobank are contributing to the R&D pathway out of Psa. From early on in the Psa crisis they have been clear in their support for the industry and for their grower clients who have had orchards hit by the disease.”

Tanner added that the support from the banks, Alto Packaging, and from local fruit growing associations, is a sign of the united approach taken by the kiwifruit industry to work together to get through the devastation caused by Psa.

“ZESPRI has recently announced the first step in a Psa recovery pathway, with the wide scale release of a new Gold kiwifruit variety known as Gold3,” said Tanner. “Critical to the success of the recovery will be an ongoing commitment to R&D, which is also why support from these key industry partners is so welcome.”

Graham Turley, ANZ National’s MD, agri and cpmmercial, said the bank was proud to get behind the research programme. He said: “As the leading bank for the kiwifruit industry, we’re committed to working with the industry so it can come through this crisis as strong as possible. To achieve this, we must first have a solid understanding of where the industry stands on this crisis, and where it is going. The Psa R&D programme will help provide the knowledge to manage the challenges ahead.

“Often, a crisis brings out the best in people, and that’s certainly been the case with Psa. It has been incredibly heartening to see the whole industry working together, and working really hard to find solutions. This is an important industry initiative that we are proud to be part of.”

ANZ National has also invested in a working group from across the bank to keep it up to date with what is happening in the orchards and with the growers, and has appointed a kiwifruit director to ensure it has a central base of knowledge and understanding of the impact of Psa.

KVH chief executive, Barry O’Neil, said support for the research programme from leading financial and industry organisations is extremely encouraging for growers. “These sponsorship initiatives are indicative of the goodwill amongst our stakeholders and their backing for our work to find Psa solutions that will return the kiwifruit industry to optimal health and production.”

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