November 08, 2012
Māori a priority for Primary Industries Ministry
The Ministry for Primary Industries' Maori relationships manager says the ministry has made increasing Maori productivity one of its main strategic objectives.
The ministry is handing out $2.8 million to 14 Maori producers in matching grants from its Sustainable Farming Fund.
Ben Dalton says $1 million was initially set aside, but the amount was raised because of the quality of applications.
He says Maori are seen as key to the drive towards sustainability in farming, forestry and fisheries.
"There is increasing recognition in the primary sector that given the amount of resources that Maori control, or will control over time, that it's necessary to do that rather than that it's on a guilt trip or some other way of thinking about it. I quite like the fact that increasingly people in the primary sector are looking for partnerships with Maori because it makes good business sense," Mr Dalton says.
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