A new chapter for Grain Producers SA has begun after new chief executive officer Caroline Rhodes took the reins this week.
Having worn multiple professional hats, Ms Rhodes is an experienced grain industry specialist who has served on industry boards including Rural Business Support, SA Grain Industry Trust and Foodbank SA.
Ms Rhodes said her passion for the grain sector and opportunity to link her extensive background with the work of GPSA was an opportunity she was thrilled to take on.
“I hope to raise the profile of the industry and make sure the economic contribution the grains sector makes is well recognised and understood,” she said.
“GPSA has built a solid foundation to work with and because of this we have a huge opportunity to engage with government and advance the interest of growers.”
Ms Rhodes is excited about building links with industry bodies to forge ahead with national policy and create better outcomes for SA graingrowers, in particular opening up access to new technology in the genetically-modified crop space.
“I have a lot of history with the GM topic and I served on the GM advisory committee – I am very much of the view that the way in which our legislation came about in SA was ill-thought through,” Ms Rhodes said.
“The upside does exist for the adoption of technology, we have had the GM moratorium in place for a long time and it is important we engage with members and understand the practical implications for removing the it,” she said.
“We need to look at supply chain constraints and mechanisms for coexistence for farmers who do not wish to change conventional production systems – we need to enable our members to take advantage of what should be a normalised production decision made on-farm and not on North Terrace.”
Lowering the cost of production for SA graingrowers was also a top priority for the new CEO.
“There is scope to improve many important relationships for research and development programs, and GPSA is very much about ensuring the profitability of the industry,” Ms Rhodes said.
“We need to bring down the cost of production and supply chain costs are an important part of this,” she said.
“With a new government in place, it is about establishing priorities of where public funds can be spent on upgrading infrastructure and supporting our export supply chain.”
GPSA chair Wade Dabinett said the board was delighted to “land a candidate as high calibre” as Ms Rhodes.
“We have been without a CEO for a number of months and the team have worked wonderfully to get our election platform forward but we are really looking forward to bolstering the team with Caroline,” he said.
“It is no doubt we will make great progress with Caroline’s expertise.”
