Horticulture New Zealand is hosting the global food assurance organisation GLOBALG.A.P. at its Rotorua conference this year, along with an impressive line-up of speakers.

'It's a big deal for us to have GLOBALG.A.P. involved with our conference,” HortNZ's communications manager Leigh Catley says.

The keynote speaker at this year's Horticulture New Zealand conference is Australian writer and communicator Julian Cribb who will take a hard look at the development of global agriculture and its ability to feed the planet and protect the environment.

'They bring a global view of the produce industry to us, something that's hard for Kiwis to get without travelling extensively overseas themselves.

'We are delighted with the speaker programme we have, which includes people who are experts on food security, sustainability, traceability, global retailers and supermarkets.”

The HortNZ conference routinely attracts more than 400 delegates from within the horticulture industry.

Product certification and assurance is critically important to New Zealand's horticulture exporters and more and more, to its domestic producers as well.

Consumers and retailers are demanding evidence of appropriate standards being met, throughout the supply chain.

'New Zealand's horticulture industry, both exporters and domestic producers using programmes like our own New Zealand GAP, need to keep up with overseas trends,” Leigh says.

'Our conference this year will help all growers do that, and will also provide lots of learning opportunities for those involved in other primary sectors who need to get their heads around this sort of compliance and where it is heading globally.”

The HortNZ Conference (#Hort15) is July 27 – 29, at the Rotorua Events Centre. For more information and full programme visit: www.hortnz.co.nz