As Venture Taranaki rolls out its blueprints for boosting the region’s economy through agriculture, the spotlight has fallen on grains, legumes and vegetables.
The economic development agency’s two-year process to explore agri opportunities has involved robust research and analysis involving sector leaders, academic institutions and an extensive on-the-ground network, and been funded under the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Sustainable Food and Fibre Fund.
Now, through its Branching Out programme, it is exploring the benefits that growing grain, vegetables and legumes can bring, including grain production’s role in soil regeneration, and the fact that Taranaki’s topography and climatic conditions are suitable for particular grain production.
The grain project outlines a four-year rotation of grains, legumes, and vegetables including wheat and sorghum for summer crops and paddocks for grazing, allowing the programme to integrate with existing farming systems.
Alongside increasing grain and feed supply on the ground in New Zealand, the programme aims to increase agricultural jobs and promote farming within the community.
Venture Taranaki project manager Michelle Bauer said Taranaki has untapped potential.
She said the Branching Out project is about identifying food and fibre value chain opportunities that are complementary to the region’s beef and dairy mainstays.
Over two years a long list of 96 prospects has been narrowed down to a short list of 10 high-value ventures that have been validated through robust research and analysis involving sector leaders, academic institutions and an extensive on-the-ground network.
“This project aims to increase resilience, sustainability and add value to what we can grow so well and we also want to encourage more thriving food industries in our region like beef, dairy, honey.”
Bauer said the most promising ventures identified have resulted in a series of informative investor-ready blueprints, commissioned and published by Venture Taranaki and launched in July this year.
The blueprints serve to build investor confidence and be an informative roadmap for complementary land-based activities and associated value chain enterprises in Taranaki.
They contain details about sector opportunities and drivers of growth, required growing conditions, crop management, value chain development, financial assessments and potential impact for the region economically, socially and environmentally.
The blueprints include opportunities involving grains, legumes and vegetables; hemp fibre for construction; avocados; kiwifruit; hops; sheep dairy; trees, medicinal plants; gin botanicals and indigenous ingredients. All are consumer led and driven by market opportunities.
Through the Branching Out project 270,000ha of suitable land has been identified for horticulture in the region with more than 50 growers expressing interest in supporting pilot trial activities across a range of the ventures.
“Taranaki is fortunate to have a favourable climate and soil conditions in which many things grow well and it is likely that climate change will make the region even more suitable to a wide range of horticultural crops,” Bauer said.
“So rather than focus on the land use we have taken the approach of identifying ventures that can build on our existing strengths and capabilities in engineering food production and related services leveraging the knowledge and networks that exist in the region and connect to opportunities on a national level.”
Bauer said the second phase of the project now is about looking forward to the practical implementation of the identified values.
This will involve supporting pilot trial activities and development on farms.
Farmers, consultants and food companies took part in an event last week aimed at exploring the benefits and constraints of integrating crops into farm systems as part of the grains, legumes and vegetables blueprint.
Businesses that attended ranged from livestock feed suppliers and growers to a company producing cauliflower-based ice cream.
Nick Pyke of Leftfield Innovation presented his research and findings in relation to the grains, legumes and vegetables blueprint.
The Taranaki region is traditionally dairy, but has wider potential for crops, Pyke said.
He identified crops such as wheat, maize grain, sorghum, garlic, faba beans, kumara and the perennial ryegrass miscanthus that could potentially have higher returns than dairy.
Some also have the ability to extract nitrogen from deeper than pasture can reach, and can improve soil structure.
“This would have a case going forward from an environmental management perspective,” Pyke said.
Potentially there is a market but part of the next step of Branching Out is to work out how large the market could be, how accessible and how long term, Pyke said.
Bauer said this blueprint is at the stage where it needs farmer engagement to take the project forward and be successful.
“In all cases it is clear that a market does exist with future trends and consumer preference supporting this. We can see Branching Out growing to significant scale in terms of food security into the future both at a nationwide level and to global exports,” Bauer said.
