Editorial: Support, don't stifle farmers
OPINION: Ministry for Primary Industries' situation outlook for primary industries report (SOPI) makes impressive reading.
THE MINISTRY for Primary Industries has defended technology transfer to farms from Primary Growth Partnership programmes, following criticism from former Landcorp chief executive, and now Beef + Lamb Genetics chairman, Chris Kelly.
At BLG’s recent Sheep Breeders’ Forum in Dunedin Kelly said PGPs wouldn’t succeed “until we crack the technology transfer problem.” (Rural News, Oct 21).
That implies a lack of technology transferring from PGP programmes, which is not the case, says MPI’s PGP director Justine Gilliland.
“Technology transfer is one of the areas that we focus on in PGP programmes,” she told Rural News.
“In fact, many PGP programmes are actively focussed on this, such as Clearview Innovations, Transforming the Dairy Value Chain, the Red Meat Profit Partnership, NZ Avocados Go Global and the New Zealand Sheep Industry Transformation programme.
“These programmes are ensuring that growers and others have access to usable information, data, knowledge, tools and services and support to enable their businesses to succeed.
“For example, the FarmIQ System is connecting farmers more directly with their processor and consumers, as well as helping them to drive farm performance.”
Gilliland says MPI has also facilitated discussions across and among PGP programmes about technology transfer and other topics, to “leverage outcomes using the collective knowledge of programmes.”
A standard framework for technology transfer across PGPs helps information and knowledge sharing, she adds.
An MPI-commissioned independent report on PGPs by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research earlier this year concluded that current and future PGPs will deliver about $6.4 billion/year growth in GDP from 2025, points out Gilliland.
And if all innovations are adopted widely, and aspirations of programmes reached, an extra $4.7 billion is possible.
“The PGP is making good progress in enabling technology transfer from PGP programmes to the primary industry sectors, and this is supported by increasing collaboration among and between PGP programmes.”
Meat co-operative, Alliance has met with a group of farmer shareholders, who oppose the sale of a controlling stake in the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
Rollovers of quad bikes or ATVs towing calf milk trailers have typically prompted a Safety Alert from Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture across New Zealand.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
A group of Kiwi farmers are urging Alliance farmer-shareholders to vote against a deal that would see the red meat co-operative sell approximately $270 million in shares to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
In a few hundred words it's impossible to adequately describe the outstanding contribution that James Brendan Bolger made to New Zealand since he first entered politics in 1972.
Dawn Meats is set to increase its proposed investment in Alliance Group by up to $25 million following stronger than forecast year-end results by Alliance.
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