Chinese growers' contribution celebrated

The Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Commercial Growers recently held its 82nd annual conference dinner in Auckland. 

Bobby Lowe works for the family market garden business at Runciman, south of Auckland but also serves as secretary of the Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Commercial Growers. He says the passion for growing remains strong in the Federation’s membership, whether or not they are still full-time growers.

“We have a lot of old growers who we call associate members, they still grow vegetables in one form or another at home whether that’s on a lifestyle block or something a little smaller.”

Bobby says the Federation is more than an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and dinner once a year. The New Zealand Chinese Growers’ Association (later known as the Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Commercial Growers) was formed in the 1940s.

It was created as a central body to coordinate a cooperative and liaise with officials to supply vegetables for allied troops in the Pacific as part of the war effort. Its history is told in the books Sons of Soil by Lily Lee and Ruth Lam, and Success through Adversity by historian Nigel Murphy.

The Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Commercial Growers’ membership in 2024 is now around 50 families across the country.

“One of the challenges moving forward is to redefine what the Dominion Federation is. We’re trying to put the system to engage growers back out there. It starts from a basic website and email address and goes from there.”

The Federation is looking into other ways to support and give back to growers, he says.

Bobby recently held the position of future director for Vegetables NZ and is one of the participants in the Horticulture New Zealand Leadership Programme this year. The Leadership Programme is designed for potential and current leaders in the fruit and vegetable industry, with 19 scholarships awarded this year after taking a hiatus in 2023.

“Those programmes opened my eyes that we could be doing a lot more for our growers. If I hadn’t taken part in those programmes I wouldn’t know as much as I know about the industry and what I can take back to our growers.

“It’s about challenging your current mindset, thinking about things differently, and having access to different tools and resources. Joining Vegetables NZ as a future director really was a catalyst for what we’re trying to do here with the Dominion Federation.”

As chairman of the Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Commercial Growers, Dennis Fong advocates for best growing practices, is involved in networking, and encourages growers to work together to secure better prices for services and supplies. With two sons now working for the family market garden, Dennis spends more time working for the Federation to represent Chinese growers.

As part of that representation, Mt Roskill MP Carlos Cheung was invited to speak to members at the AGM and again at the dinner that evening.

Carlos says the event was a good opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing not only Chinese growers but the industry as a whole.

He wants to look at how government and industry can better work together to address the challenges, including profitability and attracting new growers to secure the future of the industry.

Attendees at the dinner were a mix of Federation members, associate members, business reps from across the industry, and community leaders.

Speaking at the dinner, Jeffery Turner, chairman of Fresh Direct Ltd / J&P Turner Group, says that for over a century, members of the Federation played a very important role in developing vegetable growing in New Zealand, setting high standards in quality, honesty, and reliability.

“Although sadly, the number of active Chinese growers today is a small fraction of what it was 50, or even 30 years ago, the input you have had, and the legacy you have provided, continues to impact the horticulture sector nationwide.”

“Your forebears, and many of you, had challenging years of hard physical work, few if any holidays or weekends off, tough economic times, and regrettably worst of all, your community was disgracefully discriminated against. However, you showed no malice or retribution, instead you forged very close support within your own community and focused on some important core values.”

Jeffery says the vegetable growing sector and the country as a whole owes a great debt, “not just for your role as producers of top-quality produce, particularly during an important period of at least seven decades when you produced around 80 percent of New Zealand’s total green vegetable supply, but more importantly for those priceless values which contributed immensely to the country’s make-up.”

He acknowledged the shrinking number of young Chinese growers and thanked those who have the passion and vision to maintain their heritage.

“Despite modern machinery and improved technology, being a grower today is in many ways more challenging, and with more risk than it ever has been. Your forebears used to have large families providing a stable and reliable workforce, but today there is more reliance on outside labour,” he says.

“Increases in the cost of land, machinery, funding and inputs have outstripped returns on investment, but you have adopted improved efficiencies, risen to the demands of ever-increasing food safety compliance, and proved over and over the value of retaining those core principles – thank you for that.”