Prime horticultural land: Industry says more work needed to protect it

The horticulture industry is working with the Government on new legislation to protect productive land. Photo / Paul Estcourt

By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ

The horticulture industry says more work is needed to protect prime horticultural land.

New research looking at the ability to get by with domestic production if global food supply chains are disrupted ranked New Zealand as one of the most self-sufficient countries.

The paper, published in the journal Nature Food, analysed 186 countries’ ability to feed their citizens and achieve dietary guidelines if supply chains were disrupted by trade tariffs, wars, pandemics or other crises.

The research found over a third of countries cannot meet self-sufficiency for more than two of the seven essential food groups, while NZ was fully self-sufficient in five of the seven - fruit and vegetable, meat, dairy, fish and seafood supply - but would struggle to produce enough starchy staples and legumes, nuts and seeds.

Industry group United Fresh spokesperson Dr Hans Maurer told RNZ’s Morning Report that while the report bodes well for NZ’s food security, there’s an imbalance in protecting prime horticultural land, citing housing development at Pukekohe.

“[That’s] very good volcanic land and a lot of that land over the last 20 years has been built up with new housing,” he said.

“Horticulture - particularly the protection of vegetables - is very dependent on land that can be intensively farmed.

“We have plenty of land in this country, but not land of the same quality of Pukekohe or Horowhenua, where the soils are just ideal.”

Maurer said the industry was working with the Government on new legislation.

“We need to create a legal framework that protects production,” he said.

NZ has traditionally “boxed above its weight” when it came to the adoption of technology and innovation, he said.

“You only need to look at the kiwifruit industry or the way the apple industry has maintained its edge globally.”

But he said there needed to be continued investment, especially as new on-farm and orchard technologies came online, including artificial intelligence.

NZ’s reliance on seasonal labour was also problematic, as it would become harder to come by as the population aged, he said.

United Fresh figures showed the country’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports reached $4.3 billion last year, an increase of 8% from 2023.

The group said there was an industry-wide push underway to increase horticulture production, with an aim of doubling the farmgate return by 2036.

Consumers spent roughly $1.3 billion on NZ-grown produce in 2024.

While shoppers were increasingly suffering from sticker shock at the price of some produce, the sector is heavily impacted by other markets, particularly energy and gas; instability in those markets puts a lot of pressure on supply chains.

Maurer stressed the weather-dependent nature of the industry, including challenges from extreme weather events, pests and diseases, noting that last month’s widespread flooding in the Nelson Tasman region will impact next season’s apples.

Despite NZ’s relatively good showing in the research, a map summarising the results contained a significant glitch - the country did not feature at all.

“That is not a reflection of the work that has been done; they certainly analysed NZ as well,” Maurer said.

The researchers had apologised for the unintentional omission, he said.

- RNZ