MPI wants to turn its new land use flexibility projects into proof points it can take to councils, making it easier for farmers to change how they use their land, director general Ray Smith says.
“We should trust landowners to use their land to generate the next highest value thing they want to invest in,” he says.
The Government launched the programme on 10 June. It is investing $18.34 million in a $45.85 million seven-year dairy project that aims to cut nitrogen leaching by 20% per hectare.
A separate beef and sheep project, worth $8.47 million over five years with $3.55 million in Government funding, targets a 20% lift in hill-country pasture use and a 30% gain in feed conversion efficiency.
Smith says currently, many farmers want to switch to dairy or add a horticultural crop, but are unsure whether the rules allow it. Larger corporations can work the system more easily than smaller operators, and the projects are intended to give those smaller farmers replicable models to follow.
“We can be a regulator, and we can be an investor, and we can be a partner.
“In fact, we’re a better regulator if we’re in people’s businesses and we understand them, and we listen to them.”
He says their M. bovis response showed MPI lacked frontline staff connected to farming communities. The ministry now runs an on-farm support team of about 40 to 50 across the country.
“I think we’ve got to tell the story about what New Zealand farmers are doing to protect and look after our environment; they care about it, they care about their land.
“Nobody wants to degrade it.”
Smith says their focus is on doubling the export value, with the primary sector currently generating $64 billion.
China is New Zealand’s biggest trading partner, taking 30% of all primary products, with two-way trade growing from less than $2 billion to $21 billion in agricultural products since the FTA.
“Because New Zealand’s worked so hard over the years on its relationship with China, I have better access to those senior government officials in China than any of my counterparts around the world.”
New Zealand’s top 10 trading partners are moving around, with the UK back after 50 years and India set to come on stream, Smith says.
“When I started in this job eight years ago, red meat used to export about 38% of its product into China.
“It’s now at 21%, and the USA is the biggest export market for us.”
CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.
