$41m funding for meaty projects

Passion2Profit are to help develop new markets for chilled venison and help deer farmers become more productive and profitable. Photo / Warren Buckland

Two projects to develop premium markets for New Zealand venison and lamb have won $41 million in government and industry co-funding under the Primary Growth Partnership.

Passion2Profit has been given $16 million to help develop new markets for chilled venison and help deer farmers become more productive and profitable.

The Ministry for Primary Industries, which co-ordinates the PGP programme, is giving almost $7.4 million. The rest is coming from Deer Industry New Zealand and partners.

The other project, Targeting New Wealth with High Health, gets $25 million over seven years to reach existing and emerging markets with a new class of premium lamb products with improved health qualities. These include lower levels of saturated fat and higher levels of polyunsaturated fat and healthy omega-3 oils. Half of the funding will come from MPI.

The Primary Growth Partnership aims to boost the value, productivity and profitability of the primary sector through investment between government and industry. It has 18 long-term programmes with about $720 million of co-investments.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said Passion2Profit would enable New Zealand venison producers to supply premium chilled venison to domestic and overseas markets, in particular Europe.

"Traditionally, New Zealand has relied on European market demand for mostly frozen venison products," Guy said.

"This demand has been seasonal and places pressure on our venison industry. Passion2Profit aims to deliver economic benefits of $56 million a year in additional industry revenue by the end of the programme."

Targeting New Wealth with High Health would also give significant economic benefits by raising the value and profitability of New Zealand lamb products, he said.

A collaboration with Alliance Group and Headwaters New Zealand, the programme aims to develop new production, processing and marketing techniques that could be extended to other industries.

- BusinessDesk