Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1413164
What are your short and long term goals after joining the GTRA team? I'm still trying to get up to speed on all the market access issues affecting our almond exports overseas and monitoring how the new Biden administration will handle trade negotiations going forward. I'm still a strong believer in free/fair trade. The disciplines provided by the World Trade Organization in recent years have really helped boost the global economy. It makes sense for American farmers to share our bounty of natural resources in the form of food and other agricultural commodities with those countries overseas who are not so blessed with plentiful food. My long-term goal is to help take pressure off Julie Adams, my boss, who is such a hard worker and so dedicated to the California almond industry! Abhijeet Kulkarni – Principal, Technical and Trade Issues Tell us about yourself, Abhi, where did you grow up and go to school? I grew up in a farming family in the western part of India, before moving to California for graduate studies in Biological & Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis. Our farm was a mix of orchard crops (mangoes, guava) and annuals (soy, vegetables, sunflower, onions, etc)s so, I've had connection with agriculture pretty much all my life. For almost a decade you have been doing this work with another nut industry. What similarities and differences have you found? From my past life in working at the California Walnut Commission, I would say there are similar issues. Being in a heavily regulated state like California and representing an export-oriented commodity, you must deal with lots of domestic and export country regulations, especially related to pesticides. That aspect remains the same between nut crops. So, the familiarity with the various agencies around the world and how things work certainly translates well. But there are also differences in the issues faced. Almonds need bees for pollination while walnuts don't. That one difference means there is extra scrutiny of orchard management practices in almonds and links to bee health. That's why the partnership between ABC and projects like Project Apis m. and Pollinator Partnership are so valuable. Similarly, aflatoxin is a significant issue for almonds compared to walnuts. The Pre-Export Check (PEC) program instituted by ABC in partnership with USDA has helped to smoothen almond exports to Europe. Is it true you were once a tour guide? Nature tour guide (backpacking guide), so yes. I was a freelance outdoor guide for the Outdoor Adventures program at UC Davis. We helped students get a taste of backpacking and taught them the basics including choosing the right backpack, what to bring on trips, setting camp, wilderness safety precautions, minimizing your environmental impact during camping and so on. The goal was to help the students develop an appreciation of nature in a safe, social setting. I led numerous trips around California from Redwoods to the Sierras to the Central Coast. You aren't totally foreign to almonds, I see some time at Blue Diamond in your resume, what did you do there? I worked as a Process Engineer trainee at BDG. In that role, I was doing a little bit of everything—assisting with quality assurance, continuous improvement projects, employee food safety, research and development projects, etc. My "claim to fame" is I got a chance to work on the prototype of a product that became the Almond Breeze. None of us had any idea how popular it would be! It was a great learning experience. And that's where I also developed my weakness for honey roasted almonds. Although the more recent wasabi and soy sauce almonds are also fantastic. What are some of your short- and long-term goals after joining the GTRA team? Having had previous tree nut industry experience, I intend to hit the ground running. I know we are facing regulatory challenges in several key markets, especially E.U. and India. So, I will work on quickly gaining an understanding of the issues and key agencies, trade groups and personnel to liaison to represent the almond industry interests. Long term, we will keep an eye on the changing regulatory landscape and how issues such as climate change, sustainability, labeling changes, and new markets may affect us, so we can develop a strategy to stay ahead of the curve and continue telling the story of California almonds. Almond Board of California 14