Growing Kent & Medway, a project set up to boost our horticulture, food and drink industries, has appointed a new director.

Dr Nikki Harrison has been revealed as its new programme director, joining the team from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), where she was head of business development.

Growing Kent & Medway is led by NIAB EMR in East Malling.

With a scientific career spanning more than 20 years, she is trained in plant biology and genetics; microbiology and biotechnology, and horticultural cropping systems. Prior to joining AHDB, Dr Harrison was senior research leader in horticulturalscience at NIAB EMR, and was an honorary research fellow at the University of Reading.

Professor Mario Caccamo, managing director of NIAB EMR, said: “The combination of Dr Harrison’s industry research experience and her track record in delivering partnership projects epitomises what the Growing Kent & Medway initiative seeks to achieve by bringing academia, research and the industry together. We are delighted she is returning to NIAB EMR.”

Dr Harrison, added: “Thanks to the government’s funding, matched by our partners including the East Malling Trust, it means the Growing Kent & Medway initiative is perfectly placed to establish Kent and Medway as a world-leading region for advanced horticultural production and processing of high-value, nutrient-rich foods and plant-based compounds and it is great to be able to play my part in making it a success."

The Growing Kent & Medway consortium includes the University of Kent and the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich, alongside industry partners, including APS Produce, Berry Gardens Growers, Chapel Down, Gusbourne Estate, Richard Hochfeld Group, Thanet Earth, Worldwide Fruit, Geku Automation, and Smurfit Kappa.

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