Unhelpful politics
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says the succession of Recovery Ministers who have resigned or left has not made his life easy.
The Government will back the food and fibres sector to lead New Zealand’s economic recovery from Covid-19 with targeted investments, Forestry Minister Stuart Nash says.
The targeted investments will be part of the Government’s Fit for a Better World roadmap.
Two reports released today at the Fieldays – the Fit for a Better World Progress Update 2021 and the Sustainable Food and Fibres Snapshot – provide an update on the work the Government is doing in partnership with industry.
“Since we launched the roadmap, we’ve co-invested alongside industry in projects worth tens of millions of dollars,” Nash says.
Nash says the Fit for a Better World roadmap has focused on identifying creative and new ideas for lifting returns and improving sustainability.
“Last year, we up-scaled the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futrues) fund to further boost innovation efforts.”
He says SFF Futures has committed more than $111 million in funding to new projects, worth almost $250 million.
“This emphasises the importance the sector places on innovation, which is vital to the delivery of the roadmap.”
Nash reminded the audience that in the 2021 Budget, the Government committed $62 million to back initiatives to help reduce costs for farmers and growers, boost returns, and achieve lower on-farm emissions.
“Partnerships like He Waka Eke Noa, our Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership, are also working with farmers and growers on practical solutions to reduce emissions and build resilience to climate change.
“All of this work has a common goal of strengthening the environmental credentials of our food and fibre products and driving further value growth.”
He says the Government is committed to working with sector partners to drive New Zealand’s economic recovery and ongoing prosperity.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.