M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
Protecting farmers and key workers in the rural sector must now be a high priority as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic start to hit this country.
Rowena Hume, Beef+LambNZ’s engagement and communications manager, says the primary sector is critical to NZ.
“If we look after the people in the agricultural sector, we are looking after NZ.”
Last week, BLNZ cancelled all its events as part of a plan to protect food producers and others in the red meat supply chain to ensure the flow of primary exports. As well, the red meat industry body has suspended all international travel for staff and restricted domestic travel. It has also sent out an email to all producers setting out the steps BLNZ is taking to protect farmers and those in the supply chains.
Hume says what the COVID-19 has shown is the importance of the agricultural sector for NZ.
“For next little while agricultural exports are going to be vital because we are seeing the impacts on the tourism sector and also the forestry sector,” she told Rural News. “Hopefully agricultural trade will keep happening.”
She said the reasoning behind BLNZ cancelling its events and travel is to protect farmers and ensure that they and others in the red meat supply chain don’t get sick. Hume says the meat processing companies are quite concerned at the moment that if a staff member got sick they may have to close down the plant – hence the plans and protocols to protect the people in the ag sector.
“We also want farmers to feel some pride and be aware that they and those in the processing industry are really important at this critical time. We have seen trade start to come back on line in China – so there are some positive opportunities for us going forward,” she says.
Rethink policies
Hume notes that, at present, many farmers are suffering stress from drought as well as the threat of a raft of new environmental legislation.
She says this is the time when both government and policymakers should be seriously rethinking some of these policies and asking whether these are right thing to do in the current economic environment.
Meanwhile, in an email to farmers, Beef+LambNZ says it will be looking at other ways it can stay in touch with each farmers and get the tools and information needed: such as social media; potential delivery of workshops online; podcasts; webinars; and emails.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
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