Mike Chapman, until recently the CEO of New Zealand for Fruit and Vegetation Development, has won the Beldillo Cup for more than 20 years for significant fruit and vegetable development.
Barry O’Neill Mike, president of Hortensez, said his advocacy for the horticulture industry was tireless, strong and balanced.
Mike always works for farmers and gardeners, and, of course, New Zealand’s economy and public health in order to achieve the best results by having healthy and nutritious, locally grown food.
Mike, as an intellectual, stands firm on the key issues of protecting the soil, helping farmers to maintain their social will to grow, and helping farmers stay economically in a rapidly changing environment.
From L to R: HortNZ President Barry O’Neill; Bledisloe Cup winner Mike Chapman; And Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
Mike has been in the fruit and vegetable industry for over 20 years. He was a leader, advocate and lobbyist, but perhaps most of all a fan of the industry.
Mike moved his legal career to Kiwifret in 1965. In 2002, he became CEO of Kiwi Ifruit New Zealand and since then has served as CEO. In 2005, he became chief executive of New Zealand’s Kiwifrit manufacturers. Ten years later, In 2015, Mike took over as New Zealand gardener until June of this year.
But after his departure, Mike continued to work on the popular RSE program. Mike played a key role in the government’s decision to allow RSE workers from Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu to enter New Zealand without coordinated isolation in early August.
New Zealand’s Best Apples at the Imperial Fruit Show was first presented by then-Governor General Bladsloy in 1931 for the Bleidislo Cup for fruit and vegetable development.
It is one of the many cups presented to New Zealand by Lord Bladslo, similar to the 1931 Rugby Bledislo Cup.
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