Fibre broadband expansion to 95% of NZ gets green light – a win for rural connectivity
The Infrastructure Commission has endorsed a plan by Chorus to expand fibre broadband to 95% of New Zealand much to the delight of rural women.
The director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says the UN has a role to play in leveraging the power of digital technologies.
In an address to a High-Level United Nations Dialogue on the Progress and Future of Digital Cooperation, QU Dongyu noted that agriculture is one of the world’s biggest challenges, because digitally rural areas are lagging behind, adding that it is time to bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas.
“Digitalisation is reshaping our world at its very core, and is having a deep impact on our societies and economies, and our mindsets,” he said, stressing that digitization may have a significant positive impact on agrifood systems transformation to make them more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.
However, he pointed out that new emerging issues related to safe and ethical use of digital agriculture should be taken into consideration.
This is crucial “to ensure a holistic perspective and an open, free and secure digital future for all as outlined by the Global Digital Compact and other key UN led initiatives towards which we are working together”.
He reiterated FAO’s commitment to continue working closely with all stakeholders in an efficient, effective, and coherent manner to establish a global digital ecosystem to address global challenge.
The session was part of the UN’s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which brought together UN leaders to present their respective mandates within the WSIS process and their perspectives on digital for development.
As New Zealand marks the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 (IYWF 2026), industry leaders are challenging the misconception that women only support farming.
Fonterra’s impending exit from the Australian dairy industry is a major event but the story doesn’t change too much for farmers.
Expect greater collaboration between Massey University’s school of Agriculture and Environment and Ireland’s leading agriculture university, the University College of Dublin (UCD), in the future.
A partnership between Torere Macadamias Ltd and the Riddet Institute aims to unlock value from macadamia nuts while growing the next generation of Māori agribusiness researchers.
A new partnership between Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) and NZAgbiz aims to make evidence-based calf rearing practices accessible to all farm teams.
Despite some trying circumstances recently, the cherry season looks set to emerge on top of things.

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