Displaying items by tag: HortNZ

Hort NZ chair Barry O'Neil says food supply and security is fundamental to New Zealand's future.

For the country's horticultural sector, it's been a year that started off with the worst weather imaginable. It also had plenty of drama and intrigue and ended up with us getting a new tri-party government that has collectively promised to fix everything! Peter Burke reports.

HorticultureNZ chair Barry O'Neil believes the mood in the sector is more positive than it's been all year.

The Government has announced its long awaited funding package for farmers and growers hit by cyclones and storms in the North Island.

Taylor Leabourn, a 28-year-old agronomist at LeaderBrand, has been named the 2023 Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year.

"We urgently want more government support and certainty."

The Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti horticulture industries say they urgently need more Government direction and support if they are to recover to pre-cyclone levels of growth within the next decade.

The role of the banks is a critical component in the overall recovery plan for Hawke's Bay, according to the HortNZ chair Barry O'Neil.

"We're not in a good place and some growers will have to just walk away from their land.”

The cost of Cyclone Gabrielle will run into the billions of dollars over the coming years