Govt Commits $4m to Rural Wellbeing Initiatives
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Like his Manawatu District Council counterpart, Michael Ford, he sees Palmerston North also as an agricultural hub, but of a different kind, particularly based around the world class Massey University campus.
"We want to push that we are one of the leading food and agri innovation hubs of the world," he told Rural News.
"Massey itself does some amazing research in this space with its various agricultural course as well as the Vet School.
"In addition, there are many other research organisations based on the campus such as the Riddet and Hopkirk institutes, the NZ Food Safety and Science Research Centre, the Synlait dairy company and Fonterra which has its international R&D centre just across the highway from Massey and has very close connections with the university," he says.
Smith says all these organisations are internationally recognised and provide an important science element to the strong farming and agri business in the Manawatu region.
He says Palmerston North is funding the event to the tune of $30,000 to get the message across about the contribution that his city makes to the agri economy.
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Grant Smith says on the Friday of the field days they are running a panel discussion on the future of agriculture and hope to have the Prime Minister, Trade Minister Todd McClay and Finance Minister Nicola Willis taking part in this.
Smith agrees that things are looking up for the primary sector in many different ways.
One of these signs he says is that for the first time since 2018, all the halls of residence at Massey University are full.
He says with the new vice chancellor Pierre Venter taking over, one can expect to see the power of agriculture being realised and developing to a new level.
