Ryan Bridge speaks with Prof. Alan Renwick on how to maximise land use for economic gain.
Video / Herald NOW
By RNZ
A new report suggests the country needs to change its thinking about how it uses agricultural land to get better productivity and economic returns from farmers.
The Lincoln University report, The Future Use of Land and How to Fund It, examines a range of scenarios driven by theneed to control greenhouse gas emissions or increase export returns.
Alan Renwick, of Lincoln University, said the report looked at optimising the use of land, with the challenge of meeting economic, environmental, and social goals simultaneously.
“This requires practical, future-focused solutions - like integrating horticulture into traditional pastoral systems, developing on-farm processing to capture more value locally, or growing Māori agribusinesses around high-value niche products like mānuka honey or native botanicals.”
He said farmers were committed to their land but needed to show changes in mindset to do more within the same farming footprint, rather than stick to one farming system, such as dairying or sheep and beef.
The Every Hectare Matters programme would bring together bank agri-specialists and outside experts, a land transition plan and a way to finance it.
“A key component of the programme is connecting farmers to farm-specific guidance on options and trade-offs for different land optimisation choices because we know no two farms are the same,” Gent said.
