William Rolleston: Agriculture is still our strength

Dr William Rolleston

It has not been an easy year so far - droughts, floods, dairy prices and health and safety to name a few.

Dairy prices have continued to weaken. With the prospect of a low payout for a second year we need to ensure the banks understand the cyclical nature of this industry and stick with their clients where it is possible. We also need a public who understand that we can make good environmental progress when times are good and that while it is not acceptable to go backwards, when times are hard progress is going to be slower.

The easing of interest rates has provided some relief for farmers in both interest payments and a falling New Zealand dollar, with its lifting effect on farm gate prices - lamb, beef and wool prices all strengthening. Of course we shouldn't forget that a lower dollar means as a nation we are all poorer. Fair value for our currency is all we ask and it has been generally regarded for some time that our dollar has been well above that fair value.

As an open and trading nation we are vulnerable to international events. The Greek debt default is a fast moving feast and there is plenty to play out. Falling stock markets in Shanghai in response could have a chilling effect on confidence in China and pose a potential risk to our exports. Panic in world affairs has never been a winning strategy so we look to the leaders involved to play it cool and settle the situation.

Two other international events will take our attention this year - the Rugby World Cup notwithstanding. They are the TPP negotiations and the climate change summit in Paris in November.

President Obama signed the Trade Promotion Agreement on Wednesday despite the negative commentary that it wouldn't get through. This is a major step forward in the TPP process but time is running short to reach any conclusions before political lockdown in the United States. Agriculture is an essential element of any agreement.

Last week, I heard my Japanese counterpart, at the World Farmers Organisation's General Assembly in Milan, argue that TPP would reduce his nation's local production and in his mind food security.

He also worried that if Japan was producing less they would have to buy food from nations who could hardly feed themselves let alone Japan. There was no consideration that Japan would be providing those nations with an income that could help lift them out of poverty and that food self-sufficiency does not equal food security. Building good and mutually beneficial relations with your trading partners leads to food security, not to mention international security.

But this reflects what we are up against. We need our New Zealand government to stand strong in the TPP negotiations.

Agriculture is still our strength and it is not for sacrificial slaughter on the table of compromise. If nations cannot tolerate free trade, including in agriculture, they need to step aside from the TPP negotiations and let those who are willing finish the deal.

While we do have differences with some of our fellow farmers on the world stage there are also issues that unite us, such as the vagaries of the climate, the requirement to feed a growing population while reducing our environmental footprint, the struggle to remain profitable in light of international and local regulation, as well as ensuring we have access to modern technology.

As we move toward climate change negotiations in Paris the rhetoric will become stronger. Bear in mind that the real negotiations are being done now and the substantial decisions will be made ahead of Paris. COP21, as the meeting is called, is just the last step.

We have been pushing for a separate conversation around agriculture and, as one delegate put it, a cow is not a car. I agree, but it doesn't mean we are absolved of responsibility.

It is time for Federated Farmers to agree on a sound policy on climate change. One that recognises our opportunity to play our part while continuing to take agriculture forward through improved productivity and profitability.

-Dr William Rolleston is President of Federated Farmers. This is an extract from a speech Dr Rolleston gave to the Federated Farmers National Council in Wellington on Friday.

-Views expressed here are the writer's opinion, and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz

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