Chris is the Project Manager for Farm Business Resilience, a program of the Future Drought Fund which works with States and Territories to implement the Farm Business Resilience Program. Chris also provides growers and districts with economic analysis and advice, with a particular focus on energy and water, as well as farm business planning and budgeting.

Having grown up on the family sugarcane farm in South Africa, Chris has continued a life-long association the crop. After completing an M.Sc. Agric. (Agric Econ) degree at the University of Natal in South Africa, he joined the South African Cane Growers Association and worked as an agricultural economist for nine years. He then embarked on a new chapter of his career in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where he worked to support producers and marketers across a range of crops produced by local farmers.

Chris moved to Brisbane in 2017 and worked in the International Development sector as a project manager delivering Australian Government funded economic development programs in the APAC region. With a strong technical aptitude, he has delivered a range of financial and investment models for agribusiness and other projects, as well as various technical studies and assessments for organisations. He has conducted baseline economic research in varied contexts in Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia and India. He has knowledge and experience in various agricultural sector value chain areas including farm investment and management, crop planning, farmers associations, post-harvest management, transport planning, and enterprise development work, amongst others.

After joining CANEGROWERS, Chris has built a strong understanding of our industry in Australia and has become well known amongst growers after delivery of several rounds of Business Essentials workshops throughout the districts. He enjoys getting to know more about our growers with each visit and always looks forward to the next workshop series.