Te Pāti Māori has unveiled a major Kai Sovereignty policy promising billions in immediate food support alongside new investment in Māori food production, community māra kai and Māori-owned supermarkets.
The party says its goal is to move whānau from kai dependency to kai sovereignty, arguing Aotearoa produces significant quantities of food for export while many households continue to struggle to afford basic groceries. Its policy document says around 95 percent of milk and more than 80 percent of meat are exported.
At the centre of the policy is a proposed $100 million Community Kai Fund supporting home gardens, marae māra kai and larger Māori and community-led food farms. The party also proposes working with councils to make more urban and rural land available for food production and establishing scholarships for rangatahi entering food science, marine biology and primary industries.
A further $100 million agricultural innovation fund would support small and diversified Māori farms, regenerative and organic agriculture, agroforestry and garden-to-market production.
The policy also takes direct aim at supermarket concentration. Te Pāti Māori proposes another $100 million in seed funding to help Māori collectives establish supermarket chains, alongside access to Crown or council-owned land in commercially viable locations. It also wants greater protection for whānau selling homegrown, homekill and roadside kai.
The most expensive component is immediate cost-of-living support.
Te Pāti Māori proposes an Income Tax Kai Credit for people earning $60,000 or less, worth the equivalent of up to eight weeks of kai each year. The party estimates around three million people would qualify and puts the fiscal cost at $2.8 billion. The Kai Credit has also featured in the party’s wider 2026 tax platform.
The policy would also establish an independent Māori Kai Sovereignty Board with statutory powers, develop a Māori Seed Conservation Strategy, strengthen protections around Māori intellectual property and indigenous plants, and oppose genetically engineered food.
The package adds food to Te Pāti Māori’s broader sovereignty agenda, alongside its recently announced $1 billion Energy Sovereignty Fund. Together, the policies put Māori ownership, community control and economic rangatiratanga at the centre of the party’s Election 2026 platform.
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