increase font size
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand have received funding from MPI to develop a new sector strategy.
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) has received $212,500 from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund, to go towards developing a three-year organic sector strategy.
The project was costed at $376k and OANZ says that MPI’s contribution is extremely welcome.
“The sector’s collective buy-in, along with MPI’s funding for this strategy is instrumental in advancing the sector,” says OANZ chief executive Viv Williams.
“The strategy will look at how the organic sector can on one hand increase consumer demand, and on the other increase the share of organic produce, products and supporting the organic sector ecosystem that makes up the economy.”
Through its strategy, OANZ says it intends to identify shared challenges and opportunities; strengthen the evidence base for action; find consensus upon a vision for the sector; and set out actions for the sector’s transformation and growth within its domestic and international contexts.
“It is crucial for the sector to be able to bring forward issues and ideas to government that are grounded in the realities of the sector.
MPI investment programmes director Steve Penno says OANZ represents the majority of the organic sector and is well-placed to deliver this work.
“An organic strategy will act as an important tool to unify the sector and enable it to respond collectively to challenges and opportunities,” he says.
The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
OPINION: At last, a serious effort to better connect farmers and scientists.
An initiative by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to connect farmers with scientists is taking off judging by the response at recent regional field days.
Scientists from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are part of an international team working to develop a low-cost diagnostic tool that could significantly improve food crop production in developing countries.
Horticulture Minister Nicola Grigg says she takes her hat off to all NZ growers for the hard yards they have put in over the last few years which have resulted in horticulture exports expected to reach the milestone of $8 billion this year.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.
