Hawke's Bay meat consumption 'will be challenged'

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: Agriculture Minister Damien O Connor at the Hawke s Bay Primary Sector Awards in Hastings on Thursday night. PHOTO/PAUL TAYLOR

Apples, meat and timber products could be on a pathway to a special "Made in Hawke's Bay" stamp of recognition, as a way of facing up to the "challenges" of emerging technology.

Speaking at the Napier Port Hawke's Bay Primary Sector Awards in Hastings on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said while governments had previously legislated to protect the "provenances of provinces" within the wine sector, there was now a push to do the same for Hawke's Bay's primary sector production.

"We've done this for wine, we've acknowledged and legislated to protect Marlborough sauvignon blanc, Otago pinot noir, and, I believe, we should be doing that across the board with everything we produce in the primary sector - and in that way, be proud of it."

The minister was speaking after a tour of Hawke's Bay, including a stop in Wairoa, to discuss "grassroots" farming issues.

However, there was a common message coming through the sector surrounding uncertainty over the future and the role of new, disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence during the next 20 years.

"I think it's about time that we had a vision about agriculture and we have some idea about the direction in which we are heading. There are some really big challenges facing us and the fine quality steak we enjoyed here tonight will be challenged by plant-based protein alternatives in the very near future."

That meant the high-value, discerning customers that the sector was aiming to get to make decisions based on the impact on the environment from competing protein sources.

"Those questions need to be answered by us (as an industry) not just by consumers. We need to have an understanding of international trends, what are the values driving the decisions that consumers will make - and, whether we can connect to them.

"Blockchain and e-commerce and the like are the way of the future and we can't isolate ourselves from that reality," O'Connor said.