Listen Now: 
Ngai Tahu leader Sir Mark Solomon says a new training scheme will provide some of the Maori workers the tribe wants for the land they are developing into farms.
The Government has announced it will fund Whenua Kura, a partnership between Ngai Tahu Property, Lincoln University and Te Tapuae o Rehua.
The first intake of students is planned for June, and they will be taught cultural values along with specialist agricultural leadership and skills training.
Sir Mark says the tribe has about 16,000 hectares to convert to mixed farming, and it has a commitment to uphold its own values.
"We’ve got a pilot of three farms at the moment and we intend to do more. Technology-wise I’d say we’re probably at the top end, leading the country, but still one of our farms will be a test farm through Lincoln University. We’ve got to have an independent proof of what we are saying as far as the sustainability goes," he says.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
RELATED NEWS
