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Major New Zealand fresh produce grower is tapping AI to manage weeds on one of its farms.
It was announced earlier this month that Plunket would receive $100,000 in funding from MPI.
This is in addition to $107,000 provided by MPI last year to “deliver community services to rural communities throughout the South Island,” says MPI director rural communities and farming support Nick Story.
“Despite the challenges of Covid-19, more than 3,000 parents, babies and children living in rural locations were reached through a mix of coffee and play groups, parent education programmes and in house help to vulnerable new families dealing with a number of issues,” Story told Rural News.
MPI is one of four government ministries who paid grant funding to Plunket in the 2020/21 financial year, including Ministry of Education, Ministry of Pacific Peoples and the Ministry for Social Development, according to the charity’s annual report.
Story says MPI is among those providing Plunket with grant funding because the success of New Zealand’s primary sector hinges on having resilient, thriving and sustainable rural communities.
He says the funding for Plunket is one of 15 initiatives funded with the aim of improving the wellbeing of people in remote rural communities.
Plunket regional operations manager, Te Wai Pounamu (South Island), Maria van der Plas says the grant funding from MPI will go towards the day-today costs of running its community support services and injury prevention programme in rural areas of the South Island.
“Parenting can be an exciting but challenging time – living in rural areas can mean isolation and limited access to support services,” she told Rural News.
“These services are incredibly valuable to our rural communities – they combat isolation, improve wellbeing, and ensure that rural whānau get the support they need.”
She says Plunket community service teams and volunteers work hard to provide support services to their local communities’ specific needs.
Van der Plas adds that services take the form of injury prevention, home visits, new migrant play groups, coffee groups, exercise groups, dance and movement groups, as well as cultural groups.
