O’Connor warns of threat to rural sector
New Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor warns of a shake up in the rural sector. ‘‘Disruption is upon us,’’ he said. ‘‘If we don’t have better environmental management, if we don’t have more sustainable land use and uphold the highest standards of animal welfare, we won’t be able to sell our products into ... high-value markets.’’
New Zealand primary industries needed to target those bigger spenders because the country was ‘‘a long way from the markets and our cost of production is not low’’.
‘‘We have to sell to people who are willing to pay more because they trust and value our products.’’
O’Connor, who is also the Labour electorate MP for West Coast-Tasman, said his big push for the first term of the new government was for the development of strategic visions and plans for every sector of the primary industries.
‘‘We’ve got better at working faster, producing more, but we’re not quite sure which direction we’re heading,’’ he said.
Some ‘‘big challenges’’ facing the industries included ‘‘alternative proteins’’ and the use of genetically engineered (GE) plants.
In the United States, there was ‘‘huge investment’’ in plant-based meat and alternative milk products involving companies such as Coca-Cola, O’Connor said.
A company called Impossible Foods was marketing its plantbased patties as more environmentally friendly than traditional meat alternatives for hamburgers.
‘‘Because we use 0 per cent cows, the Impossible Burger uses a fraction of the Earth’s natural resources,’’ Impossible Foods says on its website.
O’Connor said he took seriously the threat from those alternative meat and milk products.
‘‘This is real. It’s either a threat or an opportunity depending on how we react to it,’’ he said. ‘‘The big question for us as food producers: Will future discerning consumers, who are prepared to pay more for their food, want a more environmentally friendly product or a more natural-based product.’’
GE technology was a complex issue and there were different views in New Zealand on whether GE plants should be used ‘‘or whether not using them is a point of difference’’.
‘‘We need to know ... that we have other points of difference that will keep us competitive,’’ O’Connor said. ‘‘I’m not sure what they might be – that’s the discussion that’s needed.’’
Those sought-after discerning consumers could identify in an instant via their phones where their food came from and how it was processed ‘‘and their expectations of that knowledge are ever increasing’’.
The primary industries themselves were starting to take notice but strategic planning was not in place.
‘‘I think, there’s different levels of awareness across the different sectors. I think, horticulture is in a good position because it’s always had to produce something [that goes] direct to consumers and tends to be more aware of international market trends. Some of the other sectors across meat and wool, and dairy have tended to focus on large-scale commodity production, which is often disconnected from consumer trends of demands.’’
Individual companies and, at times, the sectors were fixated on getting better returns to their farmers and shareholders, and often not in a position to look out too far.
‘‘In my view, it’s the government’s role to assist with that leadership and future planning,’’ O’Connor said.
Boosting biosecurity and food safety systems to be at the forefront of world standards was also important as was ensuring good labour conditions. An apple exporter had lost a contract because it was not able to prove all employees had the ‘‘world’s best’’ terms of employment, O’Connor said.
He added that he believed the sectors would come on board and he intended to speak directly to each industry body.
‘‘I think, over time, people are starting to understand the need. It’s backed up by many, many people across agribusiness who see the need for this as well but mechanisms to make it happen is something that we’ve got to develop.’’
O’Connor agreed the changes might cause nervousness among farmers, many of whom had high levels of debt and therefore, little financial flexibility ‘‘to do the right thing’’.
‘‘We’ve got to work with them. We’ve got to help them transition to better farming systems,’’ he said. ‘‘We have the potential to tell an amazing story with every one of our primary products; we’ve just got to get better at it and have the integrity of the production systems to back that up. Despite all the alternatives, there’s still brand value in Rolex watches and Ferrari cars.’’