Background

Historically, WildFlowers Australia was created by a group of wild flower growers and exporters who saw the need for a national body in the early 1980's. They established the structure with a view to creating what we see today - a nationally united peak Industry body. At the time, it was called the Australian Protea Growers Association. Subsequently, to acknowledge the growing interest in cultivation and marketing of our uniquely Australian Wildflowers, the name was changed to the Australian Flora and Protea Growers Association (AFPGA).

Only three years ago in 2004, the name was once again changed, this time to WildFlowers Australia. At that time, membership was already declining in a number of states, and the aspirations towards national unity  appeared to be foundering. The emerging drought, a strong Australian dollar and fierce competition from overseas growers were all combining to depress the Wildflower markets. A number of Wildflower businesses were no longer able to commit themselves to the cause of common advancement.

Leadership of the organisation at that stage found themselves steering an empty boat, without feedback for proposed initiatives and also without the energy and commitment of the grower base that they were representing. By 2005, the organisation had closed its branches in a number of states. Those remaining (all on the Eastern seaboard) were in a disempowered and financially precarious situation, relying on the efforts of a very few to keep them alive.

It was at this stage that an initiative was proposed , backed by funding from the Federal Department of Agiculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The aim of this was to involve Industry representatives with an external consultancy, in order to distill a plan of action for the revitalisation of the Australian Wildflower Industry. It was widely considered a last-ditch attempt to unite the growers, large and small, in a Nationally cohesive and profitable industry.

Fast-forward to 2007. Based on thorough consultation across the national Wildflower Industry, a core group of of dedicated growers, and aligned industry business representatives, decided they would pursue the dream and recreate their own futures, as a united and proactive Australian Wildflower Industry. To that end, they met initially by email exchanges late in 2006, then at two Industry Summit meetings in Melbourne early in 2007. The charter and objectives of the Association were confirmed at that meeting.

WildFlowers Australia is now led by a new Board, with membership from all states. We are busy creating a business plan to improve, promote and market Australian Wildflowers for all the growers we represent.

We hope that you will all join us on this exciting journey.......

 

 

Australian Wildflowers Industry:

Taking Stock and Setting Direction - June 2005

June 2005 - Ridge Partners - Consultants and Advisers prepared and released a report titled;

Australian Wildflowers Industry: Taking Stock & Setting Direction

Introduction

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries

and Forestry (DAFF), in consultation with the Australian Flower

Export Council (AFEC), have supported an Industry Partnership

Project for the Australian Wildflowers Industry.

Ridge Partners has been retained by DAFF to facilitate the

development of the Industry Partnership and make

recommendations regarding the future development of the

Australian Wildflowers Industry.

This process involved three stages:

Stage 1: Taking Stock

Ridge Partners completed significant industry consultation

across the value chain for wildflowers, as well as collated and

analysed industry data to develop a snapshot of the Australian

Wildflowers Industry. This snapshot was presented to

government and industry in a report released in May 2005,

and has been further developed in this final report.

Stage 2: Industry Workshop

On June 7, 2005 Ridge Partners facilitated an industry

workshop attended by key industry stakeholders from across

the value chain. This workshop built on the findings of the

Taking Stock report to determine the strategic direction of the

Wildflowers Industry and goals for the Industry Partnership

Project. 

 

 

Stage 3: Setting Direction

Based on the outcomes of the workshop, this report highlights

the strategic direction of the Australian Wildflowers Industry as

agreed by industry stakeholders. The report shows areas of

common priority for industry, and details how industry has

resolved to address these priorities.

This section also includes the recommendations of Ridge

Partners regarding the appropriateness of the strategic

direction, and outlines the steps industry can take to advance

this strategy.

While every attempt has been made within the report to present

an accurate snapshot of the Australian Wildflowers Industry, a lack

of up-to-date data regarding:

􀂃 production and volume;

􀂃 unit product value; and

􀂃 market segmentation;

has limited the certainty with which some claims are made.

The Report goes on to provide an outline of the Australian Wildflower Industry and you can read this by opening the attached document below titled "Taking Stock and Setting Direction Report - June 2005"

Wildflower Industry Development Options Paper

Prepared for Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by Ridge Rartners - April 2006

Executive Summary

This brief report presents recommendations for development of the Australian Wildflower Industry.

The report is in response to a request from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for advice regarding the development options available to the industry. The report is based on face to face and phone consultation with industry leaders and stakeholders during March 2006.

The report finds that industry has the capacity and motivation to collectively build its human capacity and initiate industry development projects. But many leaders are weary of the industry politics and want to take a new approach.

The recommended approach is presented below and in Figure 1. It addresses the desperate need for industry human capacity at the front end, with opportunity for action learning as structures and industry development projects are then prioritised. Available DAFF funding will be used in the initial human capacity building stage, with industry then able to apply for further support subject to outcomes achieved.

Recommendations

The report recommends a two step process, Firstly, to assess existing human capacity, and then convene action learning initiatives that build this national capacity to a level capable of managing joint industry development processes and projects. This step will take 2-3 months.

Secondly, to select, design and implement 2 or 3 industry development projects that build stronger structures, more powerful supply chains and better industry competitiveness. This step will be designed by the industry Steering Committee, but will likely plan for 2 years of activity. 

To read the body of this Paper please open the file below titled: Wildflower Industry Development Options Paper - April 2006. 

Capacity Building?

A Term used in the Wildflower Industry Development Options Paper

What is Capacity Building ?  

What is capacity?  Capacity enables businesses to plan, identify opportunities, manage risks, grow and ensure viability and returns to investors.  Capacity is people and skills, human networks and contacts, physical and financial resources.  

Similarly, capacity enables industries to do all of these things professionally and improve the prosperity of their industry members.  

Capacity building in rural industries is a way of fostering innovation.  For effective capacity building to occur, there needs to be alignment between the goals and actions of those involved and the institutions (the complex of laws, customs, markets, norms and organisations) that support them.  

In a study conducted by RIDIC in 2004, capacity building was defined as;  

“An externally or internally initiated processes designed to help individuals and groups associated with rural Australia to appreciate and manage their changing circumstances, with the objective of improving the stock of human, social, financial, physical and natural capital in an ethically defensible way.”  

The study concluded that:  

1)       Within a capacity-building program, the scope and purpose of an individual’s learning projects are not preordained by the educator or the educational training organisation but by the stakeholders involved within the program.  

2)       The basic requirements for successful capacity building by communities are leadership, diversity and resources.  

3)       Effective capacity building creates a common agenda and a willingness to collaborate among the members of the relevant communities.  

4)       Capacity building is not sustainable without the alignment of institutional arrangements to support it.  

5)       Continuous enhancement of capacity building depends on the availability of skilled practitioners, on their reflective practice, and on research into all its aspects.  

Capacity Building is effective when: 

Capacity Building is not:  

·   All parties involved within the project are willing to share and to learn 

·      Education and training or technology transfers - although they are tools that can be used to develop capacity  

·   The initial goals of the project are common among all stakeholders  

·      Experts imparting knowledge onto others 

·   There is no single incentive of a project, rather the project addresses broader issues 

·      A process where an organisation external to the process can determine the final outcome  

·   Stakeholders participate in a joint effort to improve a problematic situation  

·      A bureaucratic process, although governments can help 

·   Leadership is from bottom-up and there is no one accountable group  

 

 

 

 

 

 

What can a National Wildflower Association do for Me?

 

Prepared by Euan Colquhoun - Ridge Partners

Wildflower producers are exactly the same as other farming businesses – they survive and prosper by increasing the margin between their revenues and their costs.  So if any national Wildflower Association is going to be worth supporting it must demonstrate that it can increase the profit margins for its farmer members. The following points show how a National body is one of the keys to greater profit for agricultural producers.

Each farming business must make a profit to survive.

To increase this profit the business can either do things that increase revenue, or do things that decrease costs. Of course most flower businesses will logically try to do both.

How can we increase our revenues?

The question is how do we get wholesalers and consumers to pay more for our products?

There are 3 ways to do this are:

1. Promote our product to selected consumers and use branding etc to differentiate our

products

2. Deliver better quality products to customers using a good through chain QA scheme

3. Create new products through on-farm product development, or plant breeding / R&D.

Each strategy requires an investment by industry. In large domestic and global markets it is increasingly difficult for single farms to access the funds and manage projects to implement any or all of these three strategies. This is particularly so for smaller producers of commodity products who sell locally or to wholesaler / exporters.

But collective action will enable all producers to get the benefits of higher prices without having to pay all of the costs to achieve it. Each strategy can be cost effectively managed under a united industry body, as follows:

􀂃 Joint promotion by industry of Australian wildflowers is very cost effective and will attract financial support from Federal Government:

o The Export Market Development Grants Scheme provided significant financial subsidies that can be used by a syndicated industry group of producers and exporters working together to export. The support threshold requirements mean it is difficult for individual small producers to access these export development subsidies

o The Federal Government provides schemes to assist industries that work collectively to raise their own funds for domestic and export promotion of their products (e.g. seafood). Most customers here and overseas do not know or care which state in Australia their wildflowers come from, but they will favour an Australian branded product. Brand “Australia” is an attractive buying point.

􀂃 A single national quality scheme for key product lines would help all growers and give wholesalers and buyers confidence in Australian products and the capacity to raise prices.

for Australian QA certified and branded products across the board. As variable and unspecified quality is a major problem for the Australian wildflower industry, this type of investment should be a high national industry priority. A national wild flower body can set

up the project, attract the funds from state and federal governments to match the  voluntary in-kind contributions by participating flower businesses, and develop the quality assurance mark to be applied to certified Australian products. 

􀂃 The floriculture trade and consumers are very receptive to new products and ideas. So investment by producers in new products and plant breeding make good sense long term. The RIRDC is one of a number of Industry R&D Corporations that have the legislative power to match every dollar provided voluntarily by industry with $2 free from tax payers. The combined pool of funds provides industry with a gearing of 3:1 for investment in scientific Research and industry Development (including quality systems and some generic market activities). Through its peak national body an industry committee will select and control all projects invested in and the use of the intellectual property created. This is a great deal for industry and is a benefit all other industries take full advantage of.

The bottom line is that these strategies and benefits can not be implemented by individual flower businesses. 

How can we decrease our costs?

Business owners are the best people to identify where costs can be reduced in their businesses.

Typically, big wildflower businesses will have lower unit costs because of their scale of operations.

There are 2 types of costs faced by flower growers:

Direct operational cost items are paid by all wildflower businesses, most importantly labour, fertilizer, water, fuel, packaging, freight and distribution. Because these often relate to local and regional inputs and services, there is little a national industry organisation can do to reduce farming costs directly. However on a national scale a national body can:

􀂃 Reduce Insurance costs– the cost of insurance for grower groups and regional growers to conduct industry events can be reduced to zero under the national insurance policy established by the Wildflowers Australia Ltd. There will be no additional cost for cover for regional events so long as the event is endorsed by the national body and details are advised prior to the event.

􀂃 Assist recruitment of employees and young people to industry and related training through direct discussions on behalf of industry with Federal Government

􀂃 Establish a national Flower Industry Training program based on specific competencies used across the industry. Standard training certificate courses designed by industry could be implemented through local TAFEs as an aid to industry. This would be particularly relevant where industry implements a national quality assurance scheme.

􀂃 Establish a uniform national farmbiz funding program to subsidize the training process and business costs of industry events and projects

􀂃 Conduct business benchmarking projects with government support to identify the costs of doing business and make this information available to industry members.

Industry development costs involve the new developments that will help grow the industry and make wild flower businesses more competitive against overseas competitors. These areas are noted in the section above dealing with revenues – promotion, quality and product development.

The national organisation can specifically reduce industry development costs for each flower business by providing national leadership and planning to: 

􀂃 Design, implement and manage key strategic projects that are beyond the capacity of individual growers. This means larger projects across more industry members at a lower cost per farmer. For example the joint promotion of wildflowers under national plan will be achieve more impact and be cheaper for each participating member.

􀂃 Source cash funds and subsidies from governments and elsewhere to pay for projects and services that industry wants (eg training). The national body supported by industry members will have a far greater opportunity to access ongoing support and scientific input for key projects (eg a national wildflower QA scheme) than individual states or growers.

These cost savings are in addition to the cost effective communication, planning, website services and national industry magazine that the national body will provide all members for the price of an annual membership of $300.