Marianne van der Laarse

Marianne van der Laarse has been working in the agricultural sector for more than 20 years. She obtained a BSc (Agric) Food Science degree at the university of Pretoria in 1985, followed by the IMM diploma in International Marketing Management. She is one of the founders of AgriAids, which has been established as a result of the horticultural industry's response to find a solution for the devastation caused by HIV and AIDS on farms. She currently holds the position of Deputy Director at AgriAids. She organized conferences for the fruit & vegetable industry for more than 10 years, and she is acting as country representative for the Produce Marketing Association in the US. She is also involved with recruitment in the agricultural industry, as well as generic promotion of fruit and vegetables.