By Nadine Tunley, is CEO of Horticulture New Zealand
Growers, along with the wider primary sector, are facing up to significant changes and new challenges.
During HortNZ’s recent meetings with growers across the country, it was clear that water allocation is a major concern.
That aligns with HortNZ’s priorities – water, climate change and adaptation, and food security and supply.
Ensuring water resilience through availability and storage is also a key priority in the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan.
Horticulture is a very efficient user of water, but our growers need a higher degree of reliability compared to other land users. They are also dealing with the implications of the El Niño weather pattern, which means drier conditions for many regions.
The importance of water reliability for fruit and vegetable quality means growers can be significantly disadvantaged when a first-in-served approach is used to allocate the volume of water allowed to be taken from rivers, and an ecosystem health approach is used to set the minimum flow.
Reliable access to water and discharges and policy settings and investment that enable water storage is the only way for horticulture to expand in a way that supports freshwater health.
However, current policy settings and attitudes – particularly in the areas of land and water use – do not support horticulture’s growth.
We have outlined strongly to the government that investment in land and water is critical to maintain a thriving horticulture sector.
There is also a need to ensure that water consent timeframes give growers the certainty to invest and increase production, while improving environmental outcomes.
It is encouraging to see the government’s commitment to exploring water storage solutions and we are continuing to strongly push this case for growers in the freshwater settings space.
The industry cannot grow without the use of NZ’s highly productive land and it cannot grow without access to water.
Ensuring market access and compliance with regulations is also critical for the sector. For many growers, this is achieved through the New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice Programme (NZGAP), which recently marked its 25th anniversary.
Owned by HortNZ and led by growers, for growers, the programme provides a credible assurance framework to meet supermarket and regulatory obligations, achieving both market access and compliance with regulations via one integrated system.
The programme has evolved continuously since its launch in 1999, to align grower practices with constantly changing regulatory and market requirements as well as the latest best practice guidelines.
A current focus is on providing a more integrated programme, while simplifying it for the user. We are also seeking a more optimal level of recognition with regulators, including a full recognition of our Environment Management System under Freshwater Farm Plan regulations.
There’s a lot of work happening and we look forward to continuing that and to advocating on growers’ behalf for sound and sensible policy settings that enable this industry to thrive.
Voting opens on our commodity levy referendum shortly and I encourage all growers to engage in the process.
Without grower support, HortNZ would be wound up. With a “yes” vote, we will continue to help growers to make informed decisions for their businesses, provide certainty around investing and make available tools, resources and services to promote productivity and profitability.
And we will continue to ensure that growers’ voices are heard, loud and clear – where they need to be heard and on the issues that are important to them.
In Focus Podcast: Full Show | 10 May
This week we chat with with Katrina Roberts, who is the new Dairy Woman of the Year. She’s a Waikato vet, working with dairy farmers to not only maintain cow health but also improve the efficiency of their farm systems. Katrina also has a background in research and is keen to show aspiring veterinarians that cattle beat cats hands down when it comes to job satisfaction.
Federated Farmers arable chair David Birkett joins us to talk about the arable industry awards, which are open to nominations now. As well as grower of the year awards for maize, cereal and seed there are also special awards recognising teams, environmental endeavours and agronomy.
And, senior reporter Hugh Stringleman wraps up the dairy commodity season for us, following this week’s GDT auction.
