Wairoa Mayor: Road upgrades between Napier and Wairoa will boost safety and accessibility
The road between Napier and Wairoa is on the mend.
The role of the banks is a critical component in the overall recovery plan for Hawke's Bay, according to the HortNZ chair Barry O'Neil.
His comments come as frustration builds in the province with orchardists and commercial growers at their wits end, not knowing if and how they can get their business up and running.
O'Neil believes some pragmatic leadership is needed by the Government to get the ball rolling.
He admits it's hard for the banks because some of the land in question is likely to be mortgaged but is now worthless.
That would make it hard for the bank to take on more debt on a property.
O'Neil says this, coupled with inflation and high interest rates, adds to the complexity of the issue.
He says the reality is that it will take at least six years - probably longer - to re-establish an orchard. O'Neil believes to do this will require some form of government intervention.
"The Government has traditionally done that with the Provincial Growth Fund where is looked at a sector and industry and invested in interest free loans to support industry to expand and develop new approaches," he told Hort News.
"A discussion along these lines with the Government will enable banks to maybe come in and offer support," O'Neil adds. "But on their own, that would be very difficult."
The problems in Hawke's Bay came to a head recently when an open letter was sent to the Government by most of the produce groups - such as NZKGI, apples and pears, summerfruit, citrus, asparagus, strawberry, processed vegetables, onions, persimmon, feijoa and HortNZ. The letter said, while the Government responded swiftly to the immediate crisis, there was now an urgent need for recovery funding, re-establishment and rebuild. The sector has called on the Government to make decisions on this as soon as possible and also to accelerate the infrastructure repair.
O'Neil says the problems in Hawke's Bay dealing with silt are mind boggling. "There are concerns [that] some of the silt is contaminated," he told Hort News.
"It needs to be moved quickly but growers are telling me they can't get approval from the authorities to do this, which is frustrating their ability to move on."
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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