Tallyman Bananas' Aaron Millar (centre right) says there is still massive potential in the banana industry for boutique growers. He runs regular workshops teaching people the skills needed to grow them. Photo / Tallyman Bananas
Tallyman Bananas' Aaron Millar (centre right) says there is still massive potential in the banana industry for boutique growers. He runs regular workshops teaching people the skills needed to grow them. Photo / Tallyman Bananas
Northland’s warming climate could be the perfect opportunity to inject more than $7m into the region’s economy, according to a series of crop studies.
Regional economic development agency Northland Inc commissioned the independent studies by consultants BDO and Scarlatti as part of Pūtake Whakatupu (Foundationfor Growth) under the Tuputupu Grow Northland initiative.
The crops studied were pineapple, banana, mango, papaya, ginger, turmeric, soy, sunflower and moringa.
The hope was that the findings would encourage farmers and growers to consider market opportunities.
Ruakākā’s Tallyman Bananas owner Aaron Millar said the banana industry in particular was “exciting and rewarding” and there was ample room for more growers.
Tuputupu Grow Northland project lead Luke Beehre said the report findings could spell potential for further studies or trials.
Luke Beehre - Tuputupu Grow Northland project lead at Northland Inc. Photo / Northland Inc
The BDO report focused on mango and papaya suggested papaya in particular had the potential to generate $2.5m for a 20ha orchard.
New Zealand relied heavily on imported mango and papaya. Still, the study found developing an industry for either faced “significant challenges” such as an inexperienced workforce, yield variability and quality consistency.
On top of that, there was a lack of local infrastructure to support processing.
However, papaya showed strong commercial potential, especially in the form of powder.
Sunflowers were among the crops studied in Northland in a bid to bring more commercial opportunities to the region. Photo / Northland Inc
Mangoes were less feasible due to high costs, export competition, and low domestic demand.
The Scarlatti report on banana, pineapple, moringa, soybean, sunflower, ginger, and turmeric found they had the potential to diversify between 480 and 790ha of the region’s land.
Northland’s subtropical climate opened the opportunity to consider new crops, it said.
Up to $4m in profit could be injected into the region if feasible options were undertaken on a smaller scale.
These included the fresh fruit of banana and pineapple, turmeric root, ginger powder, sunflower kernels, tofu (made from soybean) and fresh moringa leaves.
Pineapple was among nine crops studied as part of Tuputupu Grow Northland at Northland Inc, turning out to be a top performer in the study. Photo / Northland Inc
Pineapple proved to be the top performer in the study, which found $26,200 in gross profit per ha was possible.
The concept of regional crop clusters was also eyed, such as a subtropical fruit cluster of bananas, pineapples and papayas, or an arable crop cluster of soybeans and sunflowers.
The latter had the potential to operate at low cost and could be integrated into existing farm systems.
That meant he ended up with a cycle of high-demand crops year-round.
“The biggest hurdle is having enough produce to sell,” Millar said.
He encouraged more people to look at growing.
“It is exciting and rewarding, and it’s sort of uncharted territory.”
The Scarlatti report described a “niche” group of consumers who placed high value on traceability, freshness and spray-free alternatives as opposed to imported products.
However, to make it work, a new industry would likely have to lower its market price to compete with imported products.
Beehre said research suggested a more diversified primary sector would improve its resilience.
That would in turn create more opportunities for people and drive greater societal, economic and environmental outcomes in the region, he said.
Northland Inc chief executive Paul Linton said the community was vital to “shape the next steps” to turn “potential into reality”.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
