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September 22, 2022
Kai plan needed as food insecurity bites
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On September 22, 2022
Download AudioA Massey University economist says Māori enterprises could hold the key to getting the high cost of food down.
Matt Roskruge, the direction of Massey’s Te Au Rangahau centre for Maori business research, says New Zealand is producing enough to feed 40 million people, almost 10 times the number of people living here, yet 40 percent of households are experiencing food insecurity.
Much of that is due to market structures which mean prices are driven by export production.
He’d like to see incentives to encourage people to switch land from from dairy and beef to horticulture and market gardening.
“We’ve got a lot of Maori growers coming on board now. The Maori economy is just going from strength to strength. Maybe we need to think about how we are balancing from accessing that lucrative export market and also growing our investment arms but also making sure we as Maori enterprises (are) looking at whether we can grow fresh fruit and veges to help to support whanau as well and helping support that domestic market,” Dr Roskruge says.
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