For newcomers to the fresh produce industry, learning the complexities of the global agriculture trade can be difficult. That’s something that veterans of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, CPMA, recognize and seek to address through their 14-year-old program, Passion for Produce. 

This year 20 participants, considered rising stars in the industry, will participate in the program during the three-day CPMA Convention & Trade Show in Vancouver this April 23-25. 

The program was established by industry leaders to provide mentorship and accelerate the development of rising professionals in agriculture, helping them learn the ins and outs of the fresh produce industry in Canada. 

CPMA’s president, Ron Lemaire, says the program was born due to the complexity of the business, and wanting to equip others with the knowledge about supply chain dynamics and other areas. The organization decided to create a forum for young professionals “that needed to be part of a bigger system and receive mentoring.” 

“When you're working day in and day out, you realize that you come, you do your job, you understand, you pivot, you adjust, you deal with the fast-paced environment around fresh fruit and vegetables,” Lemaire explained. “And sometimes you have to take a step back as a veteran and realize that if I’m a young professional starting out in the business, what are some of the things that I have to deal with?”

Two of CPMA'S participants, Riley Martin and Cristina Di lelsi, do not come from a produce background, but have built a career in the field. 

Martin is a buyer for EarthFresh Foods, an international produce company with operations in the United States and Canada. He originally went to university for kinesiology, however. 

In his last year of college, he landed an internship with EarthFresh Foods and was hired right out of school as a purchasing coordinator. 

“So, I went from university learning about the human body, to buying stuff to fuel the human body,” Martin joked. 

Martin said he’s looking forward to learning about other aspects of the produce industry.

“It'll be very interesting for me to kind of gain some experience of what other professionals in the industry deal with on a day to day,” Martin explained. “The challenges and how they get through it and ideally, I'll be able to apply some of those to challenges that we experience in the potato industry.”

Cristina Di lelsi is also looking forward to meeting other established industry professionals. Her career also took an unexpected turn. She originally wanted to be a professional soccer player or work in the fashion world. Di lelsi found her way in the produce industry, however, and has now been working in the field for a decade. 

Two years ago, Di lelsi started her new role as a national account manager at Taylor Farms, and although she has been in the field for a while now, she says the learning never stops. 

“What I love about the produce industry, it's not the same every day. It changes. There's different challenges”, Di lelsi explained. “Things happen. And as you know, weather changes, so that affects the quality of the raw produce.”

A main focus this year is equipping professionals with the tools they need to adjust to changes in agriculture after the pandemic. 

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