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OPINION: Making it easier to collect rainwater and use it to grow crops and livestock is a no brainer.
New Zealand receives enormous volumes of freshwater, but it falls unevenly across seasons and regions.
Our country sees both floods and droughts. At the same time, climate change is increasing variability, and this places pressure on land and infrastructure through more extreme dry periods, more intense rainfall events and growing impact on communities, food production and the environment.
Therefore, more water storage schemes make sense and National’s promise to lend farmers up to $300 million to help them store more water is music to the ears of growers and farmers.
When farmers and growers have reliable water, they produce more, take on more staff and more money flows into the local town, which means more jobs and stronger exports.
At present, New Zealand only captures and uses about 2% of the total annual rainfall. There is an additional 400,000 hectares ready for irrigation right now, waiting on water storage projects to be built and resource consents to be granted.
As Federated Farmers president points out, National’s policy recognises that water storage is critical infrastructure that can help farmers build resilience, grow their businesses and respond to changing land-use opportunities.
Water storage is such an important strategic enabler of growth for the primary sector, unlocking huge economic opportunities for farmers and rural communities that all New Zealanders will benefit from.
Reliable access to water gives farmers more options. It can help them increase production, build resilience through dry periods, or shift to higher value land uses when new opportunities emerge.
If NZ is serious about doubling its export value and unlocking all the economic benefits that will come with that ambition, access to water is absolutely critical.
And better water storage isn’t just good for farmers, but also for rural towns, the wider economy, and the environment.
Having our rural towns running out of water is a major issue, and building more water storage will alleviate that. National’s policy is just what the farming sector needs.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand says the National Party’s agriculture plan provides a strong basis for lifting productivity, supporting rural communities and recognising the sheep and beef sector’s environmental track record.
As part of its Election 2026 coverage, Rural News asked political parties how they would help pull the arable sector out of the doldrums. Here's what they said:
National’s pledge to introduce 19 new national standards shows the party is serious about getting Wellington out of farming, Federated Farmers says.
The Government is backing work on a community-led water storage scheme that could irrigate up to 11,000 more hectares of the Poverty Bay flats, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.
OPINION: Rivers never sit still. They start as snowmelt and rain in the high country, pick up a creek here and a stream there, and carry all of it down to where it's needed.
Canterbury milk processor, Synlait Milk has confirmed Leon Fung as its chief executive officer.
OPINION: Making it easier to collect rainwater and use it to grow crops and livestock is a no brainer.
As part of its Election 2026 coverage, Rural News asked political parties how they would help pull the arable sector out of the doldrums. Here's what they said:
Farmers are being encouraged to rethink how they manage waste on farm with the launch of ruralwastesorted.co.nz, a new website bringing together practical tips, real farmer experiences and resources.
New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) is celebrating the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) coming into force today, bringing New Zealand wine improved access to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
New Zealand’s red meat sector has welcomed the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement taking effect, which removes India’s 33% tariff on New Zealand sheepmeat.
