Frontline biosecurity 'untouchable'
Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has reiterated that 'frontline' biosecurity services within Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will not be cut under the Government's plan to reduce the public service.
It says there are approximately 14,000 of these small forest owners in New Zealand and many of them are farmers.
“Due to trees taking 25-30 years to be ready for harvest, many farmers may not be familiar with all the elements in the forestry cycle and could be vulnerable to exploitation,” says MPI’s Jurgen Muller.
“Most agricultural sectors have an annual cycle. This means farmers become familiar with most aspects of their business,” he explains.
“However, forestry is different. After planting your trees 25 years ago, you might now be approaching your first harvest and you are in unfamiliar territory. Your investment might be worth a lot of money and you need to make sure you maximise your profits.”
Muller says MPI is looking at what it can do to help inform small forest owners about their transactions throughout the forestry cycle and has created a survey to find out what might be the best way to support them.
He says the anonymous survey has 12 questions and estimates it takes less than 4 minutes to complete. To complete the survey, click on this link: https://surveyhero.com/c/210e8589
