Collins Bugingo - Cornell University

Collins joined the Produce Safety Alliance team as the Northwest Regional Extension Associate in March 2022 with a temporary appointment. He became full time with the team on July 1, 2022. For most of his career, Collins has worked with growers, both commercial and subsistence, small and large scale. He has a passion for helping growers implement scientifically proven practices to sustainably improve productivity and profitability. All this stems from his upbringing where his family farmed a piece of land in Uganda. His mom kept complaining of pests and diseases affecting crop production, inspiring Collins to study agriculture with the intention of helping his family and other growers with similar challenges. He has training and experience in general agriculture, extension education, and plant sciences. He has presented his work in scientific conferences, trained growers and authored extension fact sheets on integrated pest management. In 2016, he had an opportunity to work with a fresh produce export company as the phyto-sanitary officer where he ensured safe production, transportation, packing and exportation of fresh produce to the UK. This experience generated his interest to continue to help fresh produce growers, export companies, and other stakeholders develop and implement practices that ensured produce safety. He is excited to be able to do the same with growers, packers, regulatory personnel, educators, and others interested in the safety of fresh produce in the Northwest and beyond.