Back to the future for MPI?

Known as On Farm Support (OFS), the initiative is headed up by Dr John Roche who is also the Ministry for Primary Industries’ chief science advisor. He told Rural News that the aim is to have 40 staff in the regions by next month and over time increase it to 90.

The original MAF advisory service was discontinued in the late 1980s and with it went the independent advice to farmers and growers, as well as a direct link between the people on the land and the policy makers in Wellington.

Interestingly, a country which has a similar primary sector profile to NZ, Ireland, has continued with a farm advisory service called Teagasc, which comes under that country’s Department of Agriculture.

Roche, who is Irish, says the new OFS is a bit like the service Teagasc offers, but it will be much smaller. Teagasc employs about 1,100 staff based at 55 locations around Ireland. However, not all its 1,100 staff are employed as farm advisors, with some involved in training and other duties.

"Our way of working will be different,” says Roche. “Rather than organising discussion groups and facilitating these, what we are keen to do is to use the great services provided by the industry groups such as DairyNZ, B+LNZ, HortNZ and private consultants to connect with them and see where extra support is needed. Our role will be about facilitation, collaboration and building on the resources that already exist and filling in gaps where necessary.”

He says OFS will produce a separate plan for each region, which recognises that each one has different challenges and opportunities. He says it won’t be the case of a plan generated in Wellington being imposed on regions.

According to Roche, MPI’s move to establish OFS is recognition that the farming and commercial growing scene is now more complex than ever.

“With new market demands, regulatory changes, not to mention the almost constant significant adverse climatic events which are occurring,” he explains.

“For example, Alice Ritchie from the big UK supermarket chain Tesco’s recently told a conference that the key message from markets is they are demanding sustainability credentials. So, it’s not just a case of government making up rules for the sake of it.”

Roche adds that another factor which comes through in social research is that approximately 40% of farmers and growers have never sought advice from anywhere. He says in a changing world, most people will need help and advice to deal with change.

Roche says the staff at OFS will connect with local communities and gather intel that can be passed back to policy makers in MPI and other government agencies – as well as politicians – to ensure there is better decision making.

“The other thing we can offer is that we are connected into the science system, because I am head of science at MPI as well as OFS.

“I will use both of my positions to make sure that farmers and growers are getting independent evidence-based advice.

“I will be looking to connect them with the science institutions and universities where applicable.”

Who Will Be OFS Staff?

Roche says in selecting staff he’s gone for people with big brains and small egos.

He says one of the criteria in selecting OFS regional managers has been to employ people who live in the region in which they are appointed.

He believes by doing this they will already have good networks and understand the issues and can therefore provide better help and intel back to MPI.

“We have got people who are currently dairy farmers and some who have trained as lawyers so we have a really heterogenous group of people, which is quite exciting,” Roche told Rural News.

“We will obviously put them through training so that they will know what the basic inputs are into a farm plan, but we are not looking at them to do farm plans. Rather having conversations with farmers about what goes in to a farm plan and what they will need to do and connecting them with the people who can deliver those plans for them.”

Roche says his staff are there to give independent advice to farmers and growers and to be a part of the very successful primary sector. “Don’t be afraid of us – we’re there to help,” he says.