Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is praising a Ngai Tahu initiative aimed at increasing and upskilling the number of Maori working on farms.
Whenua Kura, which is a joint venture between Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and Lincoln University, has won funding from the South Island Whanau Ora commissioning agency Te Putahitanga.
It has stepped up from a certificate level course to one offering a diploma in agriculture, a level 4 certificate in agriculture and a diploma in agricultural business.
Mr Flavell says he can see Whanau Ora principles in action.
"They’ve developed even going one stage further of almost setting up a new community in the never nevers on the Canterbury Plains somewhere, where they have all these farms come together and all the young people stay on the farm where they are housed. They've got everything setup its really very very impressive. The great thing is they have qualifications to back all their people. They have got the farms and the infrastructure to do all that" he says.
Mr Flavell says Ngai Tahu is converting large tracts of former crown forest land into dairy, so it is deeply aware of the need for qualified employees.
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