In both India and New Zealand, farming is more than a business — it is a responsibility passed from generation to generation, from one season to the next.

In the orchards of New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, that philosophy has helped create one of the world’s most successful horticultural industries: kiwifruit. The sweet, golden-fleshed SunGold variety has become a global sensation.

But the kiwifruit story is also one of migration, sacrifice and shared values. Among those carrying that legacy forward is Billy Singh of Sandhu Farms in Katikati, a kiwifruit-farming hub in the Bay of Plenty.

Billy’s journey reflects the Indian philosophy of hard work and family ambition. His father arrived in New Zealand seeking a better future. “Dad came here with nothing. And we worked really hard to get here where we are now.”

Those values helped Billy build a high-performing orchard. “We work seven days. We have the same working willpower to be working every day. And we want to be the best in whatever we do.”

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At Sandhu Farms, production reaches around 20,000 trays per hectare, generating more than NZ$200,000 revenue per hectare from premium SunGold kiwifruit, generating an annual turnover of NZ$2.4 million for the 12-hectre family-run orchard.

“There are a lot of rules and regulations to grow that premium kiwifruit. There’s a lot of hard work. There’s a lot of book work as well. There’s a lot of fruit testing before Zespri (the kiwifruit cooperative) approves exports,” said Billy’s wife Navjot.

For Billy, the India opportunity is personal. “Since I’m half Indian and half Kiwi, I think that’s probably one of the best things that’s happened — building these two countries’ relationships.”

He believes New Zealand technology can help Indian growers reach premium standards.

“Indian growers had the numbers, but it was all un-pollinated fruit and they didn’t know what to do with how to canopy manage,” he said. “Those techniques can now be taken back to India and shown how you can grow premium kiwifruit just like we do here in New Zealand.”

A decade ago, that legacy faced its biggest challenge when the PSA virus devastated New Zealand’s kiwifruit orchards. Growers like Stephen Kenna of KWKiwi Farms faced the possibility of losing everything they had built. But giving up was never an option.

Instead, Stephen rebuilt through science, innovation and patience, creating a stronger future for the next generation, including his son Daniel, a geologist who returned to the family orchard. KWKiwi has continued to combine traditional farming knowledge with sustainability and new technology.

“Daniel as well as my other sons, are all interested in being involved in horticulture in our kiwifruit growing business here,” Stephen said. “It’s a matter of teaching them, showing them, letting them explore, letting them make a mistake, reassessing, revaluing and bringing them through.”

The Kenna family reflects the wider story of New Zealand’s kiwifruit sector, where thousands of growers operate largely as family businesses. Their survival came through adaptation, research and genetics. After PSA, new varieties such as Gold3 helped rebuild the industry.

That same philosophy now guides Daniel’s generation. His journey back to the orchard began with geology and a fascination for the earth.

But the attraction of farming eventually became stronger. “I was working in construction actually and I had a bit of a moment where I was in some concrete, there was noise, heavy machinery and I came home for a weekend and it was here, beautiful, peaceful, the birds were chirping and the sun was on my face. I thought this is the kind of place that I want to work in.”

Daniel represents a new generation of growers combining family knowledge with digital tools, sustainability and data-led farming.

New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry generates around NZ$5 billion annually, with India emerging as a major growth market. Under the New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement, up to 15,000 tonne of kiwifruit can enter India tariff-free.

“At the moment, we export about 7,500 tonne of kiwifruit to India. And this enables kiwifruit growers to supply around double that amount, 15,000 tonne without tariff,” said ANZ Managing Director of Business and Agriculture Lorraine Mapu.

The banking sector sees kiwifruit as a strong agricultural asset because growers have shown resilience through major challenges.

“We have a green loan facility. We have farming uplift facilities that we provide growers to help them as they work through facing those sustainability challenges,” she said.

ANZ is helping growers invest in sustainability and technology in New Zealand and could collaborate with India in the sector.

(The writer is in New Zealand at the invitation of ANZ Bank NZ)