Arable advocacy?
OPINION: Spare a thought for the arable farmer, squeezed on one side by soft global prices and on the other by limits on further yield increases.
Marr is an arable farmer based in Methven producing high quality seeds for global export and he was awarded New Zealand Seed Grower of the Year in 2022 in recognition of his work.
Until recently, he was also vice-chair of the New Zealand Seeds authority which oversees seed certification on behalf of the Ministry for Primary Industries.
He will replace Mel Poulton in the trade envoy role from July 1.
The role involves working alongside government to support key objectived and advocate for our farmers and growers offshore.
Minister of Agriculture and Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor says Marr comes from a strong farming background and has first-hand experience exporting products to market- making him well-suited to advocate for NZ farmers and growers offshore.
"Since 2017, this Government has secured seven new or upgraded Free Trade Agreements, including the gold-standard United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement which is now in force.
"As [trade envoy] Hamish will play an important role supporting New Zealand exporters to seize these new opportunities in market, as well as working with our trading partners to tell the story of our move towards a sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture sector," says O'Connor.
