Naomi has a broad association with the banana industry, starting at a young age, growing up and working on the family’s banana farm at El Arish in Far North Queensland.
Throughout her career she has made significant contributions to the industry in roles that have included agronomic consultancy, research, and extension, in both the public and private sectors.
Naomi was instrumental in driving a national research project – involving growers and researchers – to develop the Australian Banana Industry’s Best Management Practices (BMP) guidelines, officially launched at Congress in 2013. In 2015, she also played a crucial role in developing the Australian Banana Industry’s On-Farm Biosecurity training package.
Naomi’s focus in more recent years has centred around her work as a NQ Banana Research (NQBR) representative in the Musa Breeding Company (MBC). The MBC is a collaboration between Standard Fruit Company (Dole), AgroAmerica, NQBR and FHIA with the purpose of breeding new banana varieties with resistance to TR4 and Black Sigatoka.
It’s no surprise the mother-of-two is also married to a banana farmer. Matt and Naomi along with her brother in-law and sister in-law, Ben and Katelyn, operate organic banana farms in the Innisfail region in Far North Queensland.
