Applications for HortNZ scholarships now open
Applications are open for Horticulture New Zealand’s (HortNZ) 2025 scholarship programme with18 funding opportunities for students with a special interest in the commercial fruit and vegetable industry.
Horticulture New Zealand says the findings of the survey confirm that the sector will help drive New Zealand’s post-Covid recovery.
“Growers are keen to get back the recovery and provide displaced New Zealand with jobs,” says Hort NZ chief executive Mike Chapman.
“However, they are wary about the possible impact of central and local government decisions around freshwater, land use, labour availability, and education and training.”
Chapman says the sector wants to work in partnership with central and local government to achieve common goals when it comes to land and freshwater management.
Chapman says the survey also shows that access to labour has been a handbrake on growth – which the sector has been pointing out for years.
“While it is good news that many New Zealanders may want a new career in horticulture, those people will need training, and several will need support to relocate and adjust to different working conditions.”
HortNZ says there will still be a reliance on the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme to enable horticulture to grow and employ more New Zealanders on a permanent basis.
Meanwhile, Chapman agrees with another key finding of the survey that worldwide demand for New Zealand-grown fruit and vegetables will increase long-term.
“Our fruit and vegetables are grown to the highest possible standard and with complete transparency,” he explains. “This gives consumers in New Zealand and across the world absolute confidence, for which they are prepared to pay a premium.”
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards has added ASB Bank to its national sponsor family.
The quest to measure, report and make sense of the energy that goes into food production has come a long way in the past 25 years.
Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of a major software project.
Driving down Broadlands Road, northeast of Taupo there's a cluster of 19 Pāmu dairy farms around what is known as the Wairakei Estate.
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) says the Government’s new gene editing and genetic modification reforms could leave New Zealand as an outlier on the global stage.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be fronting farmers at three large public meetings organised by Federated Farmers over the coming weeks.
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