The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) and the South African Kiwi Growers Association have established a collaborative programme to address threats posed by pests and pathogens to the growing kiwi industry in South Africa. This new partnership was officially launched on 17 February 2023 in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal during a ceremonial signing of a contract by the chairperson of the South African Kiwi Growers Association, Jonathan Trusler, and Prof. Irene Barnes from FABI. Kiwi fruit have been grown in South Africa for over 40 years with many new varieties introduced to realise the potential of a growing and vibrant industry. As is true with all plant crops, disease and pest problems could threaten this industry. This has prompted local kiwi growers to invest with FABI in order to manage potential losses During the course of the next three years, PhD candidate, Cheyenne Theron, based at FABI, will undertake research on priority kiwi health problems. She will also assist farmers in providing a diagnostic service to identify and characterize the most important pathogens affecting kiwi plants in South African orchards. This project, supervised by Prof. Irene Barnes and Prof. Mike Wingfield, will collaborate with existing research programmes in FABI including the Macadamia Protection Programme, the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) and the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology (CPHB), which all broadly focus on promoting tree health.