July 23, 2014
Maori farm expertise on show
Work to increase the productivity of Maori land will be on display this week to manuhiri from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies.
The APEC delegates from Peru, Indonesia, Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are in New Zealand to discuss common barriers to rural economic development.
Ministry for Primary Industries deputy director general Ben Dalton says food security is a common APEC challenge with increasing demands and a need to focus on sustainable productivity.
He says MPI’s Maori agribusiness programme is an example of how it can be done.
Many APEC communities face similar barriers to rural economic development, such as land tenure and ownership issues, complex governance frameworks, limited access to physical and financial capital, infrastructure constraints, and physical distance to large markets.
The delegates will visit a Northland dairy conversion where MPI partnered with Maori landowners to switch 278 hectares from grazing to high-productivity dairy farming.
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