GROWCOM has appointed Sachin Ayachit as the new national program manager for the Fair Farms program.
Fair Farms is a national training and certification initiative aimed at cultivating fair and responsible employment practices in Australian horticulture.
Mr Ayachit takes over from Marsha Aralar who took up the position in September 2020.
Mr Ayachit joins Growcom with extensive knowledge and experience, and a background in the delivery of certification programs, accreditations, regulatory compliance, training, and implementation of quality systems for certification schemes in the agriculture sector.
He was most recently the general manager of certification at ACO Certification (previously Australian Certified Organics) as the general manager of certification.
Mr Ayachit holds multiple qualifications including a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, Master of Agribusiness Management, an MBA, as well as being a lead auditor for Integrated Management Systems and Internal Auditing.
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Over the past 16 years he has worked with more than 4500 certified farmers to deliver certification of 10,000 products in more than 15 countries.
"I am excited to be starting with Growcom at this very important time for the Fair farms program," Mr Ayachit said.
"Fair Farms is a great initiative that I think many growers will find invaluable as part of their farm management practices.
"It's an Australian based ethical employment standard, industry-led, and it aligns with my desire to work with all members of the supply chain - especially growers."
Growcom chief executive officer Stephen Barnard said Mr Ayachit's credentials and experience as an agricultural industry expert in training and certification made him the perfect fit for the Fair Farms program.
"Fair Farms aims to recognise growers who are ethical and responsible employers through training and awareness and offers growers a pathway to independent third-party audit through an APSCA registered auditor - so it's great we have Sachin for this lead role," Mr Barnard said.
In October last year the Australian government granted $3.2 million to Growcom to bolster uptake of the Fair Farms program.
Federal agriculture minister David Littleproud said the funding would help more horticulture producers get on board with the program.
"The Fair Farms program is there to help horticulture business do the right thing, both for their employees and their businesses," he said.
"We know that most farmers want to do the right thing by their workers but navigating employment and work health and safety regulations can be a struggle.
"I encourage anyone involved in the horticulture supply chain to look into this program.
"We believe this program is a game-changer for the horticulture industry and funding will also help Growcom look at expanding it to other relevant agricultural sectors at a later stage."
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