Covid-19 sees food producers under the spotlight

As New Zealand deals with the COVID-19 crisis the spotlight has fallen on food producers and all those working along the food supply chain.

Every day the media brings us stories of supermarket queues, panic buying, distribution channels struggling to keep up with demand, and supermarket workers going the extra mile to try and keep shelves stocked against a rising tide of worried consumers.

As farmers we are both fortunate and humbled to be able to carry on working to produce food for our nation and our export markets. We are also fortunate to live and farm in a country that produces so much high-quality fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat so that we can assure New Zealanders that they will not go hungry.

We are one of the few industries generating export dollars while the rest of economy has ground to a halt but it is a privilege to be able to do this and a privilege we do not take lightly.

Recent surveys have shown a renewed awareness and appreciation of farmers by the wider public and this is extremely gratifying.

We are hoping the government will also take this opportunity to pause and reconsider some of the proposed environmental policies that could, in their original form, have such a devastating impact on our sector.

The speed at which the government was trying to work had led to poorly crafted language with significant consequences.

The broad definition of a significant natural area, which could have covered whole sheep and beef farms, is one example.

The government was not looking at the cumulative economic impact of its proposals on water; biodiversity and climate change.

We are certainly not against policies and regulations that seek to protect our planet and natural resources, we just want them to be fair and tailored to environmental impacts.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand welcomed the Waikato Plan Change One decision last month where independent commissioners recommended a more flexible management framework for farms with a light environmental footprint and an end to grandparenting, a mechanism which effectively rewards high emitting land uses.

We are hoping the government will use the Waikato Plan Change One as a precedent when considering its Essential Freshwater and other environmental policy proposals.

Agriculture is not using the devastation wrought by COVID19 to wriggle out of taking responsibility for its environmental impact. As primary producers, we want to help NZ get back on its feet as quickly as possible and we cannot afford to be hamstrung by poorly crafted policies.