Wednesday, 24 April 2024 12:55

Celebrating success

Written by  Peter Burke
MPI director general Ray Smith. MPI director general Ray Smith.

The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.

He says biosecurity is more than just what happens on the farm - it's what's happened in waterways, at the border and in the community.

"What we want is to get a whole range of people who get involved in biosecurity, including kids in schools, and get lots of them looking for things like pests and diseases. In the case of children, they often come home with ideas and educate their parents," he says.

Smith says the goal is to get all Kiwis mobilised into supporting biosecurity.

Among the fifteen finalists were schools, iwi and local conservation groups, but also local councils, including the Waikato Regional Council and science institutions such as the Cawthorn Institute.

One of the major awards, the Minister's own Biosecurity Award, went to be long-serving Scion scientist Dr Brian Richardson in recognition of his outstanding contributions to NZ biosecurity over many years. Richardson has been involved in several eradication programmes including wilding pines and invasive insects like the painted apple moth, white-spotted tussock moth, and southern saltmarsh mosquito.

More like this

MPI: Primary sector exports hit record $60B

A blockbuster year and an exciting performance: that's how Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Ray Smith is describing the massive upsurge in the fortunes of the primary sector exports for the year ended June 2025.

Featured

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.

B+LNZ launches AI assistant for farmers

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter