“Vegetable Sales Study Needed”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31081, 9 June 1966, Page 11

“Vegetable Sales Study Needed”

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 8. The president of the New Zealand Vegetable and Produce Growers’ Federation (Mr T. H. Warburton) last night appealed to the Department of Agriculture to give greater importance to the marketing and economic aspects of horticulture.

Addressing the federation's annual conference in Wellington, he said he was disappointed that the DirectorGeneral of Agriculture (Mr D. N. R. Webb) had said that the policy of his department’s horticulture division was to avoid involvement in factors affecting the vegetable and produce industry outside the farm gate. “I fail to see how in servicing our industry it is possible for the department to divorce

.research and advisory work from marketing,” said Mr Warburton.

"I venture to predict that those departmental officers responsible for the eventual introduction of management advice to vegetable growers will quickly recognise this fact.”

Mr Warburton said he doubted whether Mr Webb’s statement was consistent with the act under which he worked. The act said one of the functions of the Agriculture Department was to promote the marketing and sale of the products of agricultural, pastoral and horticultural industries, said Mr Warburton. Predictions of likely trends in consumer preferences were essential if sound production and marketing policies were to be developed, he said. The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Taiboys) said that intentensive marketing surveys and research programmes would be the prime concern of the vegetable growing industry itself. The universities could ptay some part in such programmes, he said. Chairs of

horticulture had already been established at Massey and Lincoln Universities. The new faculty of food science and biochemistry at Massey was particularly concerned with practical development of food and food products and processing methods, allied with consumer research and market evaluation. Mr Taiboys said that Mr Webb’s statement had been described in the federation’s journal as a bombshell.

“I think this is an exaggeration, but I do not intend to completely defuse it now,” he said.

Mr Taiboys said that he did, however, wish to dispel any impression that the department’s advisory services were available only to the industries producing New Zealand's main lines of meat, wool and dairy produce. The reorganisation and development planning being carried out in the advisory services took fully into account the fact that, the application of a business approach could bring just as rewarding results to a market gardener as they could to a dairy farmer, said Mr Taiboys.