NgaiTakoto orchard is under way

Kaharau Pou (left) and Hone Āpanui are part of the team who have erected shelter and planted the first trees at NgāiTakoto's avocado orchard. Picture / Supplied

Te Rūnanga o NgāiTakoto has begun planting a 20ha avocado orchard, Rakau Ora, on the Aupōuri Peninsula.

The project is the result of four years of extensive planning, in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries and key businesses in the horticulture sector.

"The orchard is a means to achieve our aspiration of using our Treaty settlement assets to build a strong economic base for our people," NgāiTakoto CEO Rangitane Marsden said.

"It will enable greater productive use of the iwi's land and create new employment opportunities.

"This is a platform to begin the realisation of our vision, 'If we live as we ought, we shall know things as they are, and if we see things as they are, we shall live as we ought.' It's a tribute to our kaumātua and kuia who paved the way to settlement."

Andrew McConnell, MPI's Māori Agribusiness director, said his team had partnered with NgāiTakoto as the iwi has progressed along the stages of the whenua development pathway.

"It is great to see the shelter up and plants in the ground," he said.

"Rakau Ora is now set to achieve greater benefits for the NgāiTakoto people, and will contribute value to Northland's GDP too.

"We are delighted the iwi is entering this high-value food sector. It's an excellent example of promoting whānau development through whenua, as part of our strategy to grow our partnership with iwi and Māori land owners. They had all the right ingredients to make good use of what we could offer through the Māori Agribusiness Pathway to Increased Productivity (MAPIP) programme. We've connected them with the right expertise."

Iwi member Claire Tamati is the newly appointed trainee orchard Manager, which Mr Marsden said tied in with the iwi succession strategy.

"We are placing some of our people with potential to be future business leaders in our enterprises so they can be mentored and gain experience," he said. And 20ha was just the start.

"We plan to expand this current platform with an additional 40ha over the next two years, with a total potential to extend the orchard to 200ha over a planned 10 years."