Election 2026: Rural Lobby Groups Challenge Parties on Agriculture Policy
Three farmer lobby groups are applying the blowtorch to political parties on key issues facing the primary sector ahead of the general elections.
The survey was jointly carried out by Groundswell NZ, NZ Farming, and the Methane Science Accord.
Groundswell co-founder Bryce McKenzie, who is leading a public campaign for NZ to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, told Rural News that he wasn't surprised by the results.
"As one person said to me, he couldn't understand what the other 6% were thinking about," says McKenzie.
"It sends a message that farmers are not happy with all of the adverse effects like trees and methane mitigation that is a direct result of the Paris Agreement."
McKenzie wasn't giving much away about their 'Quit Paris' campaign, saying that "we'll see what happens leading up to the general elections."
The ACT Party is calling for changes to the Paris Agreement. This puts ACT on the middle ground, with the National Party, Beef + Lamb NZ, DairyNZ and Federated Farmers ruling out leaving Paris. NZ First is yet to announce its position on the Paris Agreement.
Read More:
- Paris Agreement - in or out?
- ACT, farmers push for changes to Paris Agreement
- 'Leaving Paris' not a good idea
NZ signed the accord in 2016 and it sets Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The survey also found that 87% of farmers believe their businesses will be negatively or very negatively impacted over the next decade if current climate policy settings persist and 80% believe agriculture is carrying an unfair share of emissions reduction.
On whether NZ should continue commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, 95% of respondents said no. Only 3% said yes while 2% were unsure.
66% of respondents favour investing in practical environmental work, while only 2% support investment in methane reduction technologies and 79% said reducing methane from livestock was "not at all important," while 71% stated they would not adopt methane mitigation measures, even if tools or technologies were readily available.
Helen Mandeno, Methane Science Accord, says the survey shows that farmers are calling for a shift from ideology-driven targets towards grounded, practical environmental action that aligns with rural values and realities.
"This survey shows farmers understand that poverty is the only way to comply with the Paris Agreement and that methane mitigation technology only gets in the way of using out land to efficiently turn water, air, and sunshine into protein."
