Grant a boost for urban farming
A group of Taranaki backyard farmers have been awarded a $100,000 grant from Massey University to promote growing and selling fresh produce from their gardens.
The inaugural Pivot Award will fund a partnership between the New Plymouth-based urban organic market garden network, Farm Next Door, and Massey University.
Farm Next Door co-ordinator Carl Freeman said the research from Taranaki would be a blueprint to encourage more urban farming, which has become a global movement.
The group focused on soil health and crop diversity to supply the community with environmentally and economically grown sustainable produce.
‘‘The movement has taken a big foothold in Taranaki for growing and selling locally produced sustainable food,’’ he said.
For the past two years Freeman has grown a range of seasonal vegetables from his 1060 square metre backyard for sale at an inner-city Sunday morning food market in New Plymouth.
The funding project ‘Farm to Flourish’ would help to find out more about how to market and set strategies for growing food organically with more community involvement, he said.
Massey University’s Associate Professor Sita Venkateswar, Dr Nitha Palakshappa, and Dr Dirk Roep from Wageningen University, Netherlands, will lead the project.
Roep had been involved in previous research on alternative value chains and food networks in the Netherlands and Europe.
The research focused on developing new urban farming communities and expand a network of local producers to earn income from their land.
‘‘Regenerative agriculture is gaining momentum among farmers and growers nationally and internationally, Venkateswar said.
‘‘The movement is about improving the health of a farm’s ecosystem, soil health, nutrient content in food and farm profitability.’’
The research will be a testing ground for new economic and business models to help similar projects.
The Pivot Award was launched in 2019 between Massey University and Taranaki-based Bashford Nicholls Trust.
Massey University Taranaki business development manager Eve Kawana-Brown said the project complemented wider regional programmes already under way.
‘‘Taranaki is positioning itself to meet its vision of becoming a low emissions economy under the Taranaki 2050 Roadmap,’’ she said.
Massey University Provost Professor Giselle Byrnes said the award and successful project could contribute to solving national and international challenges that food producers are facing, as the world’s population expands.
Bishop’s Action Foundation chief executive Simon Cayley said the award would help Taranaki’s agricultural transition towards 2050, and communities to flourish.