Phillip Effingham ventured into agriculture just as the supermarkets were beginning to show an interest in the produce of growers. He says he saw an opportunity to drive the sector forward, because he "felt it had real scope for innovation". Thirty years on, Effingham's enthusiasm for the resurgent brassica sector -and his commitment to driving it forward - is undimmed. He has just been voted in as the new chairman of the Brassica Growers Association, which has 96 members and represents the industryboth in the UK and overseas. Effingham's appointment comes at a crucial time for the industry, which is wrestling with a variety of issues ranging from a decline in returns for some of its produce to key research and development issues. "It has been a very difficult period for the brassica sector recently, because of fierce competition," he explains. "There are concerns about the profitability of some of the vegetables and the challenge I face is to ensure growers' costs are minimised and that we enjoya healthy profit margin when supplying supermarkets."
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