The president of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Fiona Simson has taken out the 2023 Rabobank Leadership Award, recognising the “vitally important” role she has played advocating on behalf of Australia’s agricultural sector.
Ms Simson, who became the first female leader in the NFF’s 40-year history when she was elected president of the organisation in 2016 – after a career in local government and leadership of the NSW Farmers’ Federation – was announced as recipient of this year’s award at the Rabobank Farm2Fork summit in Sydney in March.
Kate Scott, executive director of New Zealand’s Landpro – a company which provides aerial surveying, resource management, environmental and technical services for primary producers – took out the 2023 Rabobank Emerging Leader award, recognising outstanding up-and-coming industry talent.
And two new awards, honouring outstanding rural community initiatives, the Rabobank Community Leadership Awards, were presented in both countries – to Australia’s Albury-based Boys to the Bush, a not-for-profit community organisation providing preventative and early intervention strategies for disengaged young males, and to New Zealand’s Growing Future Farmers, a national training and development program providing career pathways for future farmers.
This year marked the return of the annual trans-Tasman Rabobank Leadership Awards – which recognise the contribution of leaders from across Australia and New Zealand’s food and agribusiness sector and have been held since 1999 – after a three-year hiatus due to Covid.
Rabobank regional manager Australian and New Zealand Peter Knoblanche paid tribute to Fiona Simson, saying her work leading the NFF – the peak national body representing farmers and agriculture across Australia – was “making one of the most fundamentally important contributions to leadership in the food and agribusiness sector”.
Ms Simson’s son Tom accepted the award on her behalf, as she is currently travelling in Europe connecting with farmers – looking at challenges and opportunities for farmers to work together collectively at a global level.
