Growers urged to ask for help

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers CEO Nikki Johnson is appealing to anyone feeling the stress of the recent heavy rain and flooding to call the Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust. File Photo.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc is urging anyone feeling the stress of Cyclone Debbie's heavy rain and flooding to call the Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust.

'Over the coming days, grower health and safety will remain top of mind. This time of the year with harvest is stressful enough without flooding,” says NZKGI CEO Nikki Johnson.

'If growers are concerned about someone's stress levels or mental state – their partner, family, neighbour, friend, worker, or yourself - call the Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust on 0800 RURAL HELP (0800 787 254) for a free and confidential chat.

'While many growers experienced flooding, at this stage we only know of a small number of orchards in Te Teko and Edgecumbe which have significant damage.

'However, it is still difficult to ascertain the full extent until the water recedes. The focus at this stage is on removing water from orchards to enable harvest to take place and to limit the long-term damage to the plants.”

NZKGI is also working with industry stakeholders to support growers wherever possible. There has been a need for pumping water off orchards and NZKGI can support growers in this and other areas.

'Fortunately, the kiwifruit industry has retained its knowledge of previous floods such as from Cyclone Bola and in 2005 and the utilisation of this knowledge is an advantage to respond to adverse events and retain vine health on flooded orchards.

'Every season has its issues and while individual growers are affected, we are estimating that the flooding is unlikely to have a significant impact on the overall season,” says Nikki.

Bay of Plenty Rural Support Trust on 0800 RURAL HELP (0800 787 254). The NZKGI office number is 0800 232 505.

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1 comment

Maybe....

Posted on 11-04-2017 18:46 | By GreertonBoy

Zespri could give the badly affected growers a bit of their $250,000+ 'licence' (per hectare) to assist the growers get back on their feet and maybe help the people from getting depressed in the first place? Just a thought...


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