MEDIA RELEASE
7th October 2014
FRUIT GROWERS VICTORIA APPOINTS TWO NEW IDO's
Fruit Growers Victoria Limited is pleased to announce the appointments of Tony Filippi and Jabbar Khan as Industry Development Officers for northern and southern Victoria respectively.
FGVL chairman, Brad Fankhauser, said that he was pleased that FGVL was able to make the appointments after an extensive recruitment campaign that drew applications from local, interstate and overseas candidates.
Tony Filippi has many years' experience as an IDO and has worked providing monitoring and orchard inspections in northwest Victoria and South Australia. He also has considerable experience in the development of relationships with fruit export programs in China and elsewhere.
Jabbar Khan has worked for FGVL on a seasonal contract basis for a number of years. He is a qualified entomologist and has extensive experience in IPDM. He is looking forward to taking on a more permanent role with FGVL. He has worked for international agricultural chemical companies overseas and brings significant specialist expertise to FGVL.
Jabbar will succeed Virginie Gregoire who has resigned to return to her native Canada to complete a master degree in tree physiology at Magill University in Montreal. Virginie will be missed not only because she is a very competent IDO but also because she has gone out of her way to support fruit growers.
Virginie's preferred option was to do her post graduate studies in Australia but this was economically prohibitive here with the cost at tens of thousands of dollars compared to a fully funded research project in Canada. Australia's loss is Canada's gain. Virginie leaves on the best of terms and we wish her well.
The new IDO's will commence in late October and early November. They were selected by an interview panel with representatives from FGVL, the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries and Horticulture Australia.
FGVL is confident that the new recruits will the maintain high-quality on-farm extension service that Victorian fruit growers value greatly.
John Wilson
General Manager
Fruit Growers Victoria Limited
03 5825 3700