The Cucumber Growers Association (CGA) is planning to set up and fund a scholarship to support a student coming into greenhouse horticulture or agronomy, in memory of agronomist and former CGA technical officer Derek Hargreaves, who died earlier this year.
The idea was announced to CGA members at its annual conference in the Lea Valley in October.
“Derek did so much to support growers, but he also spent a lot of time working with colleges,” said CGA chairman James Broekhuizen.
“The industry is facing a massive gap in terms of finding the next generation of technical talent, people who are going to work in agronomy in the UK. We are still working on the way we might do this but supporting some form of scholarship in this area, we believe, is the best way to remember Derek’s legacy.”
He hopes other protected crop sectors which had benefited from Derek’s expertise might also want to contribute. The association was considering ways of working with some of the colleges Derek had been involved with as well.