Agriculture must be central to New Zealand’s economic strategy
The "Putting Meat on the Bone" Briefing to Incoming Ministers document, released by the Meat Industry Association and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), sets strategic challenges that New Zealand must grapple with to improve the prosperity of the country and Kiwis, and sets out five ways to do this.
The approach includes:
"Agriculture is our only industry of scale and one area where New Zealand has a significant comparative advantage on the world stage", said MIA Chair Nathan Guy.
"The red meat sector makes a massive contribution to our economy. With the right policy settings, we could grow this substantially, but it requires government to help facilitate growth - not hinder it. Having political parties taking a long-term view will help to build political consensus to get things done".
"There is a strong precedent for a bipartisanship approach. New Zealand’s trade strategy has established a network of Free Trade Agreements over the past 30 years that have contributed significantly to our economy and overall global competitiveness".
Beef + Lamb New Zealand Chair Kate Acland said New Zealand farmers are among the best and most sustainable red meat producers on the globe, a real advantage in a world where consumers are increasingly conscious about the impact of the food they eat on the planet.
"In order to build on this great platform, we need future governments to work with the livestock sector to develop efficient and outcomes-focused regulatory frameworks. It is also crucial that we leverage our public science and innovation system to enable farmers to improve on their environmental footprint and move up the value chain.
"What is also clear is that our farmers are under pressure from a wave of poorly crafted regulations that are putting the viability of their farm businesses at risk. The Government needs to work with us on ensuring rules are needed, fair, practical and achieve the outcomes both farmers and the country are seeking".
Ms Acland said both sides of the red meat farm gate stand ready to partner with the future Government to turn this economic framework into a reality that benefits all New Zealanders.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand and MIA respectively represent the farmers who raise New Zealand’s world leading sheep and cattle, and the processors, exporters and marketers who sell it to global customers in more than 100 countries.
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