Media Release
Wednesday January 28 2003
NZ Pipfruit IFP Growers lead new era in Industry Education
- children to help grow apples and pears
A $30-million change to the way New Zealand pipfruit orchardists grow their apples and pears is creating a new
partnership between industry and education.
Pipfruit Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) has seen a major transformation on the orchard where growers are working with
nature’s own answers before resorting to man-made synthetic sprays.
As part of Pipfruit Growers of New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to its IFP programme the organisation today launched a
Pipfruit IFP –“Reaching Growing Minds” school programme aimed at linking children throughout New Zealand, and
potentially overseas, with pipfruit growers and their orchards.
The Pipfruit IFP School programme has been piloted with Hawke’s Bay’s first environmental school, Hastings Intermediate.
In just six years all New Zealand pipfruit growers have moved to either IFP (90% of growers) or organic (10%) methods -
no other country has achieved such rapid uptake to this level.
An estimated investment by Industry and Government of $30 million over the past 10 years has placed NZ apple and pear
growers well ahead of producers in other countries in their commitment to sustainable and safe production.
The change to Pipfruit IFP has lead to 60 percent fewer insecticides used on New Zealand orchards including a 90 percent
reduction in organo-phostphate sprays and an 18 percent reduction in fungicide applications.
PGNZI Chief Executive Paul Browne said growers want to build and sustain greater awareness about Pipfruit IFP that
encourages and motivates public interest and also highlights their commitment to producing safer pipfruit.
“New Zealanders have the safest and healthiest apples at their doorstep. But consumer research indicates that consumers
don’t know about it,” Mr Browne said.
“As part of this project we have canvassed households about eating apples and pears and what they knew about how
pipfruit is grown in New Zealand.
“Media have also given their time to take part in research which tested their level of understanding.
“The research findings supported what growers already knew – consumers know little, if anything, about the benefits of
Pipfruit IFP.
“It also highlighted that children from a young age do have an influence in what goes into the supermarket trolley”.
During the last term of 2003 about 100 Hastings Intermediate students followed the pest monitoring quarter of the
orchard year. They have been working with a dedicated teacher Ange Rathbone and grower Linzi Malley, along with Massey
University education advisers.
The students have been creating pheromone traps and counting bugs, and even helped make decisions as to timing of
sprays, or if sprays should be applied.
“We needed to find out if the pilot could be developed as a teaching resource at a national, and potentially an
international level,” said Mr Browne.
“We also needed to gain grower support for the education resource by clearly demonstrating the school programme would
deliver long-term benefits and value.
“The pilot has shown us that we have created an industry/education partnership which champions growers’ achievements and
demonstrates leadership from the primary sector.
“We are reaching a target consumer market by tapping into households and encouraging children to eat more apples.
“As an education tool the pilot fits within the existing school curriculum and meets education objectives of working
with industry,” he said.
Based on this positive feedback from teachers, students, industry, growers and education advisers – PGNZI and Hastings
Intermediate will continue developing the full resource covering harvesting, packing, transport/logistics exporting and
marketing.
“Our target is to begin rolling out a national programme next year partnering schools in horticultural regions with
urban schools and linking these to growers.
“Longer term we will look to introduce NZ exporters and offshore retail partners to gradually develop linkages with
schools and consumers in our export markets.
“We will also investigate developing unique branding to seek commercial advantage for producers and marketers of
Pipfruit IFP,” Mr Browne said.
Other opportunities also include potential links with other New Zealand fruits which are involved in IFP production
outside major pipfruit growing areas regions, a point of sale marketing campaign which promotes Pipfruit IFP, growers
and the schools involved, and developing a web based educational programme.
Ends