Electrician
12 May 2025
Data Scientist
12 May 2025
Economist
An economist in horticulture focuses on analysing economic trends, market dynamics, and financial data to support decision-making and enhance business performance. They study factors such as supply and demand, pricing strategies, labour costs, and government policies to help businesses make informed financial decisions. Their role is vital in ensuring the profitability and sustainability of horticultural enterprises.
Core tasks
- Analyse market trends, pricing strategies, and economic conditions in horticulture.
- Forecast financial outcomes and provide strategic advice on cost management.
- Conduct economic modelling to assess resource allocation and investment decisions.
- Advise on government policies and regulations impacting the horticulture sector.
- Provide data-driven insights to enhance financial decision-making and business strategies.
Career pathways
Due to the technical nature of this field, most occupations require formal study, such as:
- Bachelor of Economics or Agricultural Economics
- Master’s in Applied Economics or Agribusiness
Q&A with Tirza Winarta, Agriculture Economist, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Q: How did you first become interested in horticulture agriculture?
A: For me, it started off with doing food technology in high school. I’m from Sydney, so I was first introduced to agriculture in food tech. I liked the primary production side of things, it piqued an interest in me, so I continued that into university.
The horticultural was straight out of uni. I had a break for three or four months, but I wanted to get back to work; I was ready to work. So I got into horticulture. There was a position available as a horticultural analyst, and I did a little bit of horticulture here and there at UNI as well, like my honors project for UNI was with mung bean sprouts.
I’m still a graduate. I mean, I finished today as a graduate, so I’ll be a full-time worker now.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of working in your field right now?
A: Part of my role is that I produce quarterly reports on horticulture in Australia, so I feel like that’s quite valuable to a lot of growers and industry and that’s probably the most rewarding part of my job, putting out Information that’s publicly available that can help growers on their farms. We’re getting all the numbers that help with policy and grants potentially.
I feel like horticulture doesn’t have a lot of data compared to, like, wheat or beef.
How can we get all the data from all the horticultural growers in Australia?
It’s hard, and we don’t have very reliable data, so being able to produce reliable and publicly available data is valuable.
Q: There are people out there who don’t really know what to do with themselves or are unsure whether they want to pursue a career in this industry. What advice would you give to them?
A: Just try it.
I feel like you never know what you like and what you don’t like until you try it, so any experience is good experience. Even if you don’t like it, that means that you know you don’t like it, so you can move on and be in a different industry. And agriculture is so big. So move to another commodity. I think there are also a lot of transferable skills that could be applied to different commodities.