Greens pitch to farmers
The Green Party is promising to give farmers $297 million to help them transition to climate-friendly practices.
It also wants a levy on the use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers, an overhaul of the labelling of sustainably grown and organic products and a resource rental fee on commercial use of water.
The Greens’ “Farming for the Future” agriculture policy was launched yesterday by co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw at a small organic farm in Canterbury.
Shaw said “the reality is that the way we currently farm” is accelerating climate change but New Zealand could transform the causes “into the solutions”.
“Farming is at the frontline of the climate crisis, and any credible climate action must support people in the sector to transition to more sustainable practices.”
The primary sector held strong through Covid-19 and “that strength will be needed to help Aotearoa navigate the coming years” but smart choices were needed to tackle the climate crisis, the Greens’ policy said.
The Greens would create a $297m Healthy Food and Farming Fund to help farmers move to low-emissions agriculture.
Shaw said alongside the $700m funding set aside by the Government for freshwater clean-ups, this would total almost $1 billion of support for cleaner farming.
The fund would provide loans, grants, and specific funding for Ma¯ ori agriculture organisations, speed up the transition to regenerative farming, grow the organics sector and “set a fair price for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions”.
The Greens are also recommitting to a levy on nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers, equating to about $1500 a year for an average dairy farm and $1200 a year for an average sheep farm.
The Greens previously wanted to put a levy on nitrate pollution. This was met with resistance by Federated Farmers, which said it was unfair as other sectors used nitrates, such as urban sewage treatment plants.
The Greens also want to overhaul the Organics Bill before Parliament to create a robust certification scheme for organic growers and extend the country-of-origin food labelling to a wider range of food products.
Shaw said the changes meant shoppers knew they were buying the best local, sustainable produce.
Their policy also commits to:
● $30m over three years for community gardens and composting initiatives.
● Working with tangata whenua to establish a resource rental on commercial use of water.
● Ensuring land use is diverse and sustainable, by changing the rules around forestry and strengthening land-use rules to protect high-quality soils and farmland.