Monday, 30 March 2020 12:03

Ag’s biggest threat during COVID-19 pandemic

Written by  Pam Tipa
Mike Petersen. Mike Petersen.

The biggest threat to the primary sector – right now – is if COVID-19 gets into a processing plant, says Mike Petersen, former special trade envoy and Beef + Lamb chair.

“That is not just in the meat industry; that is in the horticulture sector and the dairy sector,” he told Rural News.

“There is a big risk. We are at peak picking season now with apples and kiwifruit.”

Petersen says the sector has to get it right otherwise it will lose the privilege of food production being deemed an essential service.

“Our number one priority is feeding New Zealanders first and foremost and then obviously exporting our other product to the world,” he adds.

“It is the privilege we have been given, but also a huge responsibility and we have got to make sure we have got it right.

“We shouldn’t take this lightly. We should make sure we are doing everything possible to ensure our systems and processes comply with the physical distancing rules.”

More like this

Featured

Third H5 Bird Flu Case Found in NZ Wild Bird

Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

'LinkedIn Greens'

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…

UK Warning

OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter