China's got the cash, we've got the brains, let's make lots of money?

Federated Farmers believes the medium term priority for New Zealand economic development is to maximise agricultural opportunities in New Zealand, rather than spreading ourselves too thinly by rushing into third countries.

“Just like charity, surely economic development starts at home,” says Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President.

“The thinking seems to be that China’s got the cash, we’ve got the brains, let’s make lots of money. Nissan, for instance, builds cars for New Zealand at a factory in the northeast of England but biological systems are quite different from manufacturing ones.

“Off-shoring could be an option but that needs to be explored as part of a long-term economic development strategy for agriculture. That’s a strategy we lack but is something Federated Farmers is keen to be a part of forming.

“Yet before you can run you have to walk, so Federated Farmers wishes to work with the Government, industry good bodies and providers to build agriculture’s human resource base as well as on-farm profitability to farm for generations.

“We are struggling to attract the brightest and the best into farming and are dependent on skilled migrants. Denuding our industry of talent to support off-shoring is the last thing we need in the short term as we just don’t have the depth.

“New Zealand also has weak capital markets so the likes of Business New Zealand need to concentrate on redressing that. We need private enterprise and corporate New Zealand to look at the many opportunities in New Zealand agriculture first.

“New Zealand has massive potential to increase production over the next forty years. This is why our Government’s focus needs to be on supporting agriculture’s growth by sound policy and infrastructure development. We’re nowhere near ‘peak food’ as some seem to think.

“Sensible regulation, smaller government and a major investment in science, research and technology as well as biosecurity are vital to development. Yet there are big mixed-messages out there as the lack of parity investment in rural broadband illustrates.

“It also means knowing a lot more about our consumers abroad. Initial Otago University research showed that price, brand and variety are major factors for consumers. This flies in the face of the assumed power behind ‘clean-green brand New Zealand’ and needs verification.

“It’s why we need a comprehensive agricultural economic strategy than an ad hoc one. Any future partnership with foreign capital must be on an equal realisation of value from production, distribution and brands.

“New Zealand entrepreneurship needs to be encouraged and not crushed. Government’s role must be about refereeing the game instead of trying to get onto the field of play,” Mr Nicolson concluded.