RWNZ chief executive to step down
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) chief executive Gabrielle O’Brien will step down at the end of June.
A training programme to help the kiwifruit industry provide employment opportunities for New Zealanders is receiving Government funding.
Up to $200,000 is being invested to help people into work and meet urgent seasonal demand in the sector.
“We know that people have lost their jobs because of COVID-19, and we know there is significant and urgent demand for trained workers in the horticulture sector,” says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
“During lockdown the kiwifruit industry provided a lifeline for a number of displaced workers from industries such as tourism, forestry and hospitality. We want to continue to connect people with jobs in horticulture, and more broadly in the primary industries because we know these sectors will be key to our economic recovery.
O’Connor says in the immediate term, the Government is aiming to place at least 10,000 New Zealanders in primary sector jobs.
COVID-19 travel restrictions resulted in the kiwifruit sector facing labour shortages, however, indicative figures show that New Zealanders have responded to the call for workers.
Kiwifruit businesses are now employing around 70% New Zealanders, with some businesses employing up to 90%, compared to around 50% last season.
O’Connor says the figures indicate that interest from local workers is there and this should be built upon in the longer term.
“Right now the focus for kiwifruit growers is to complete pruning over winter. This is critical for next year’s production. So we’re not wasting any time, these courses will start this month.”
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.