Author: Kerryl

Not-for-profits play a critical role in building a resilient and growing food and fibres sector in New Zealand.

Yet, we know through years of supporting agri-sector NfP initiatives, that sustainability is a real challenge for many.

We’ve been thrilled to support the Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) taking a lead in commissioning KPMG to complete this new report Not for profit performance – an agri-sector perspective

It highlights key traits of high performing NfPs and provides strategic models to benefit the sustainability and resilience of these essential organisations.

We anticipate this report supporting current and future agri NfPs’ strategic thinking – aligning with our own long-term outcomes of a resilient and growing food and fibres sector

AGMARDT is a proud partner of The Aotearoa Circle, which today launched the Mana Kai national food roadmap at Fieldays.

We’ve supported this ambitious initiative over the last two years, focused on helping to shape and enhance the future of our food system.

“It’s been exciting and uplifting to be here are Fieldays this week, connecting with our food and fibres community and welcoming Mana Kai,” says our GM Lee-Ann Marsh, who is part of the Mana Kai Leadership Group.

“Kai plays a significant role here in Aotearoa, not only as the economic backbone to our nation, but it can also enable our communities to thrive.

“The Mana Kai Initiative aspires to strike a sustainable and fair balance within our food sector that enables economic prosperity whilst also ensuring community wellbeing/hauora and a thriving natural environment.”

AGMARDT has funded two years of deep and wide dialogue, engagement and development underpinning the roadmap. This process has confirmed a clear shared agreement that Aotearoa New Zealand has an exceptional opportunity to create a specifically Aotearoa food system that we are all proud of, with tīkanga, kaitiakitanga, and mātauranga Māori at the core.

Using a Te Ao Māori framework, Mana Kai seeks to build on the good will and hard work of our communities, iwi Māori and food sector experts, to collaborate and expand.

With agreement from growers, producers and eaters, we now have shared values, purpose, ambition and actions to enhance our food system for future generations. The Mana Kai initiative is the starting point. Next comes more kōrerorero, and commitment to eight initial actions that continue our journey towards a balanced and thriving food system.

“Mana Kai is strongly aligned with AGMARDT’s desired long-term outcomes for New Zealand’s food and fibres sector, namely a regenerating environment and a resilient and growing sector – and the critical enabler of cross-sector and cross-cultural collaboration.

“There is complexity in our food systems but working in silos is no longer possible. Mana Kai creates new ways of working with others, within and outside the food and fibres sector, through giving us a framework for collaboration that is grounded in a shared vision and values.

“It highlights both the good work the sector can continue to build upon and accelerate as well as areas for change.”

Innovative agribusiness company NZ Zero (NZ0) has its sights set on export of the world’s first certified zero emissions produced cherries during the 2022/23 season, following start up support from AGMARDT.

The company’s focus is on eliminating fossil fuel used in the growing and harvesting of produce and to eliminate or reduce its use across all other aspects of its supply chain. It is also aiming to achieve New Zealand’s first zero fossil fuel certification.

NZ0’s first grower, Forest Lodge Orchard, near Cromwell, was established in 2019 by Mike and Rebecca Casey, who co-founded NZ0, along with Angus Curry.

Initially the orchard, which has about 9,600 cherry trees, allowed for fossil fuel use but by September 2021 it had completely converted all day-to-day operations to the latest electric technology – the first New Zealand grower to do so. This includes irrigation, frost fighting fans and orchard vehicles. Extensive solar power has also been installed on site.

The first ‘fossil-free’ harvest in 2021/22 was sold into the New Zealand market but the upcoming harvest will also be exported.

An AGMARDT grant helped NZ0 through its establishment phase. This included incorporation with the NZ Company Office, approval of trademarks, launch of its website and building its social media presence. The funding also supported NZ0 in the creation of an open source certification for food production with zero emissions, through AsureQuality, a pre-sales marketing campaign and retail and consumer research.

Angus Curry said market trials had been highly successful, demonstrating that New Zealand consumers were willing to pay a premium for sustainable food, with data showing that electrification for growers was highly viable – they have also developed an electrification payback model.

Forest Lodge has attracted significant media interest, including for the introduction of its electric tractor and bespoke electric foliar sprayer. It was a finalist in the 2021 Sustainable Business Awards and has been used as a case study by the Sustainable Energy Association New Zealand.

“NZ0’s purpose is to become a catalyst for true, quantifiable change in the production methods of growers,” said Mr Curry. “As a brand, it will add value to both growers and consumers while acting as a point of difference for NZ from other global producers.”

Mr Curry said that, recognising that impactful change of New Zealand’s carbon footprint depends on scale, NZ0 is developing a conversion plan for other growers to model.

The company now aims to build on its initial market research and data by expanding product offerings from cherries to other important commercial crops. Next steps include finalising its zero fossil fuel certification, working towards on-boarding new growers and establishing new sales channels domestically and internationally.

“We believe the ‘NZ brand’ would benefit greatly from its next market catalyst, identifying with carbon conscious consumers both domestically and globally to regain our premium niche in the market,” said Mr Curry. “This is a sector in which NZ could become the sole true participant based on our government’s target of a 100% renewable grid by 2030, the only large scale food exporter to do so.”

AGMARDT helped fund world-class speakers for E Tipu 2022: the Boma NZ Agri Summit, New Zealand’s biggest food and fibre cross-sector event.

AGMARDT led a workshop session at the summit,  funded the digital event programme to share all international talks and showcase domestic speakers to a global audience, along with recording, live streaming and post production for all the international speakers’ talks. These professionally-edited talks can be viewed on the Boma Global YouTube channel.

Boma offers transformational learning experiences for leaders and changemakers. The event, held at Christchurch Town Hall in June, proved highly successful, with over 750 attendees, from 242 organisations, the largest number since E Tipu’s launch in 2019. It was hailed by attendees as a world class event, with a significant number of delegates booking immediately for E Tipu 2023.

It included 31 world class speakers and panellists, a series of interactive workshops, designed to ignite action, and extensive networking opportunities.

Jude Leferink, brand and marketing director for Boma New Zealand, said AGMARDT was a natural partner for E Tipu, which has become a critical platform for informed, thoughtful and future focused dialogue around the issues that really matter for our primary industries.

“As a national event with global reach, E Tipu connects Aotearoa’s food and fibre sector with the world – bringing thoughtful and future focused dialogue around the issues that really matter for our primary industries,” said Ms Leferink.

“E Tipu connects Aotearoa’s food and fibre sector with the world — bringing together remarkable speakers and changemakers to ignite vital conversations, share mind-blowing insights, and help shape the future of Aotearoa’s primary industries.

“E Tipu sits at the nexus of the practical and the radical, tackling major questions around how we can be more innovative, collaborative, sustainable and profitable — now and into the future.”

Ms Leferink said the event headlined current industry challenges and opportunities directly aligned to AGMARDT’s focus area.

“Critically, E Tipu is not a talk-fest. It’s about connecting, arming and inspiring changemakers from across Aotearoa’s primary industries and beyond for what comes next — so they can take specific, positive action the very next day. The summit sparks transformations.

“E Tipu 2022 was bigger and bolder than ever before — showcasing mind-blowing insights and igniting vital conversations to help shape the future of the sector.”

Photos – Property of Venture Taranaki and Taranaki Catchment Community.

A pilot project in Taranaki is trailblazing initiatives to help farmers improve on-farm energy-efficiency, energy resilience and reduce on-farm emissions.

The Taranaki Rural Energy Project is a collaboration between Federated Farmers, Taranaki Catchment Communities, Taranaki Regional Council and regional development agency Venture Taranaki – working closely with farmers, energy companies, equipment suppliers, programme partners, and agencies.

AGMARDT funding has enabled the project to take its first steps, undertaking initial pilot trials in farmer education and advice for energy efficiency.

Anne Probert, Venture Taranaki GM Regional Strategy and Sectors says on-farm energy use presents an area of opportunity, and farmers are keen to be more sustainable, identify efficiencies, and advance low emission energy options.

“To be able to do this and to capture these gains, they need help to understand their on-farm energy profile and how they can improve low-emission productivity. They also need to know what the best low-emission investment options are and have confidence about making those investments.

“We’re really grateful to AGMARDT for coming on board and making it possible for our Taranaki collective to design and trial such a farmer-led rural energy advisory service”

This involved engaging two people to visit a cross-section of farms, undertake on-farm energy audits and identify some ‘quick wins’ as well as longer-term energy solutions. Outcomes were also collated for the project team along with practical feedback on the value and potential extension of such a service and how it could be used to foster sharing of rural energy information and best practice.

Learnings from this pilot are being used as a foundation for potentially establishing a farm energy adviser role, which could serve as a blueprint for similar programmes throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Future plans could also include the possibility of farm visits, events, and information sharing on rural energy to support initiatives within the programme focus areas.

Funding from AGMARDT has enabled the project to develop a business plan and launch a centralised hub online where farmers can engage and access the programme.

Leveraging the collaborative nature of the project, core focus areas include working with partners to develop data systems that enable farmers to make the required energy-related investment decisions to support the project goals.

Another area is working to identify local resource capacities such as solar and river flows for renewable energies and the feasible technologies to support these.

The project is also supporting collaboration between energy infrastructure companies and the Taranaki rural community to increase supply resilience and support transitions to new technologies.

“Ultimately, the big focus of this project is creating a collaborative and farmer-led approach that fosters practical advice and support and closes the information gap farmers currently face in relation to the rollout of cost-effective, technically feasible, and readily available energy solutions.

“Learnings, case studies, and resources from the project will be available to all farmers in New Zealand. Over time, this will help to future-proof farms in terms of meeting their energy supply needs and also place them at the forefront concerning trialling, testing, and utilising new energy technologies and low emission options.”

Gerald Hope – Chief Executive Marlborough Research Centre Trust, John Patterson – Associate MRC, Bernie Rowe – Chairman, Edwin Pitts – Trustee, (Absent is Ivan Sutherland – Trustee)

AGMARDT provided funding that enabled the Marlborough Research Centre Trust to undertake a waste mapping study across Te Tau Ihu, the top of the South Island. This will support strategies for upscaling organic waste streams.

Industrial scale use of insects to convert waste streams into high quality animal feed is just one of the potential outcomes that could spring from the Te Tau Ihi waste mapping study.

Marlborough Research Centre (MRC) recognised that a comprehensive inventory and analysis of bio resources (waste streams) across the top of the South Island would be a valuable starting point to develop regional strategies and multi-sector business opportunities to recycle and upcycle waste.

MRC associate John Patterson said significant economic benefits are expected to come out of the study, which is now publicly available. It will provide a valuable resource for organisations considering launching new ventures using waste. It is also hoped it will provide a step towards establishment of an industrial waste upscaling plant to produce high value animal feeds.

“The region wishes to establish an environment of cradle to cradle nutrient circularity and reuse,” said Mr Patterson. “The findings of the study can be applied to progress multiple upcycling of organic waste streams. The study has identified what and where the waste streams are and what the resources are and is a fundamental first step to progressing a strategy to upcycle waste streams.”

MRC contracted the study to Plant & Food Research which worked with a bio-waste and insect bioconversion technology expert John Macdonald, of Food Security Solutions Ltd, to survey businesses across the regions that produce waste streams, including the wine industry, other primary producers and processors.

“For instance, grape marc, such as residual skins and leaves, is the waste stream for wine production,” said Mr Patterson. “The Marlborough region produces around 70 to 80 tonnes of this annually.

“Insect farming is one of the opportunities. Insects can potentially be fed using waste streams and then processed for use in high quality animal feed. However, a range of waste streams is needed to create the ‘recipe’ of ingredients required to feed the insects. Organisations considering new insect farming ventures now have easier access to information showing whether sufficient quantities of those waste streams might be available in the region.”

Industrial scale insect farming would implement the latest innovations in sustainable protein production, using the Buhler Insect Technology Solutions (BITS) which uses insects to turn organic residues into protein for feed. While further feasibility studies would be needed, it is estimated such a project would create 50 new full-time jobs and bring investment of $85 million to the region, plus associated value creation.

“The information is now out there and people are starting to use it,” said Mr Patterson. “We have had interest from companies nationally including those looking to understand the financial viability of insect farming, so we will be doing some collaboration to progress how insect farming might evolve in the region. There has also been a lot of interest from the industries that are producing the waste streams.”

The waste mapping project cost $69,000 in total and Mr Patterson said that is unlikely it would have been possible without AGMARDT funding.

“The funding was very valuable. To be truly effective the study needed to cover the entire Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions. Different regions have different priorities and it would have been difficult to get everyone lined up. AGMARDT support enabled us to do a comprehensive cross-region study.”

The waste mapping report is now available on MRC’s website at https://www.mrc.org.nz/project-reports

Ensuring our future leaders are equipped to take on the challenges facing the agrifood sector is a big part of what AGMARDT does.

So, we’re thrilled to be a major sponsor and business partner of the Strategic Thinking for Agrifood Management Programme (STAMP), which supports the development of emerging leaders from all areas within New Zealand’s agrifood sector.

Developed and piloted by New Zealand food innovation hub FoodHQ in collaboration with Massey University agribusiness academics, Professor Nicola Shadbolt and Dr Elena Garnevska, over the past three years, the programme focuses on accelerating emerging leaders’ strategic thinking, broadening sector awareness and helping build local and global personal and professional networks.

“The young people who have come through this programme are so inspiring and appreciative,” says FoodHQ Chief Executive Dr Abby Thompson.

“They realise the status quo is not an option and that there are a lot of opportunities waiting to be opened, to build on our strengths like meat, dairy and kiwifruit and introduce greater diversity and innovation.

“It’s so great to have AGMARDT on board to ensure we can continue to help accelerate the skills they need to make change. Without AGMARDT that wouldn’t happen.”

The core approach with the programme is case study analysis based on the time-honoured Harvard Business School methodology.

“Case study analysis not only stimulates the mind to think strategically but gives students some insight to discuss and reflect on real-life situations, the kind of management problems they are likely to face in their careers.

“They get to understand the many different considerations involved, the approach leaders have taken and to learn analytical and problem-solving skills techniques to come up with their own recommendations.”

Another core focus of the programme is extending students’ awareness of the agrifood sector through exposure to its different disciplines and components. This happens through case study work as well as site visits, meetings and panel discussions with those who have knowledge and expertise.

Integral to these activities is bringing participants together with their peers from across the sector and sector organisations to help build networks and relationships.

“Diversity in the cohort is really to ensure we’re getting those different cross-sector perspectives from different aspects such as science, markets and industry on and off-farm, sharing ideas and building relationships.

“Ultimately, collaboration and partnership are fundamental to the future of food, helping build the innovation ecosystem in agriculture, food and technology that New Zealand needs to take to ensure our nation’s future success.”

The programme invites applications from New Zealand based young professionals and postgraduate students (under 30 years of age) from any part of the agrifood sector.  Diversity is a key part of the programme’s success, and current participants include people working in various parts of industry, government and research; and across the whole of the value chain from farming and growing through to consumers and everything in between. It’s not an easy choice with on average 70-100 applicants per year – limited to an annual intake of approximately 10-15 new participants who can participate for up to three years.

“We have between 30-35 participants at any given time, with a current cohort of 32 ranging in age from early twenties to early thirties, with around half of them female.”

The programme is designed not to be an onerous commitment for these often very busy young professionals, with just three to four weekend events a year – and the opportunity to attend the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) conference – and participate in the IFAMA Student Case Study competition.

In fact, in June 2022, three teams were sent to IFAMA in Costa Rica, two of which won first and second place in the case study competition for young professionals.

To apply, please complete the application form and forward with a 2-page CV to [email protected]m by 9am on Monday 22^nd August 2022.  Please send any questions about the programme to this email as well.