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The CEO of NZ National Fieldays Society, Jon Calder, has attended the opening of the Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair in the Shaanxi Province, West China attended by 50,000 people.
On Tuesday 20 November Calder delivered a passionate speech at the China Modern Agriculture Summit where he spoke about the history of the NZ National Fieldays, its role in New Zealand’s agricultural sector and the importance of innovation to Fieldays success.
Calder was the only non-Ministerial speaker invited to speak at the summit and said he felt extremely privileged to be representing Fieldays on the global stage.
“I feel humbled to be here representing Fieldays. I am focused and motivated to ensure we maximize this opportunity and convert it into tangible outcomes that benefit not only our organisation, but Agriculture in general,” said Calder.
“The respect and esteem with which our organisation is held on the Global Stage, cannot be underestimated. Fieldays is regarded worldwide as an Agri-Business Expo that is truly world class.”
Calder is in China with Nick Dromgool, NZ National Fieldays Society’s Commercial Manager, as part of a reciprocal agreement with the aim of forging strong ties between the New Zealand agriculture sector and the agri-technology industry in China.
While in China the senior Fieldays staff will be meeting with agriculture officials and academics from the Yangling University, as well as local businesses to start developing opportunities for Fieldays to work cooperatively and collaboratively in China.
Next week Calder will travel to India as part of a business mission led by Minister for Primary Industries, Hon David Carter, and will spend time in Delhi and Chandigarh, with the specific intention of forging closer economic relationships through the primary sector.
The Fieldays 2013 theme, Getting Down to Business in the Global Economy, highlights New Zealand’s unique position as an innovative agribusiness driven economy to capitalise on the growing international demand for food, protein, and agricultural expertise.
New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays will be held 12-15 June 2013 at Mystery Creek Events Centre, 10 minutes south of Hamilton. The event is proudly supported by strategic partners – ANZ and the University of Waikato.
