Continuing the HTA agenda and prioritisation of plant health by the HTA, Alistair Yeomans will be taking on a new role to drive this forward focussing on the development of the plant health agenda, notably advancing the Plant Health and Biosecurity Alliance and securing external funding to support its continued development.

The HTA is recruiting a new Horticulture Manager to take responsibility for HTA grower member activities including the management of the BOPP Scheme, development of the Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media and grower liaison.

With plant health being such a fundamental priority for the horticulture industry the HTA continues to work closely with other organisations including Defra, APHA and Grown in Britain. This year has seen a Plant Health conference, the publication of the Plant Health Management Standard and the launch of the Plant Healthy toolkit – a biosecurity self-assessment tool for all businesses. This is a first step towards the development of the independently audited Plant Health Assurance Scheme.

Alistair Yeomans, comments, “Following a productive year at the HTA, my new role will focus on plant health and biosecurity. I would like to thank all colleagues at the HTA and partner organisations for their help and support to date. This exciting new role will see our efforts redoubled in tackling threatening plant pests by progressing with the Plant Health Assurance Scheme and the overarching Plant Healthy initiative.”

HTA Chairman James Barnes comments, “Plant health is such an important area for our whole industry and it is vital that this agenda is progressed at pace. Alistair has been instrumental in driving this work forward and this move to a dedicated role will help achieve this. We will continue to work closely with Alistair on plant health.”