Organic Farming Addresses Many Regional and Central Government Sustainability Initiatives
Organic farming not only works with nature to provide healthy food, it also works with nature to provide a better world. By moving toward organic land production, New Zealand has a pathway to the solutions needed for healthier food systems and climate resilience, while also producing high-value products that meet domestic and international demand.
Both central and local governments need to develop policies and strategies that bring environmental and economic solutions together. A multidisciplinary and collaborative systems approach is key to solving the challenges brought on by our changing climate and Covid-19.
In recognising this need, OANZ has identified several strategies and policies where organic production clearly helps meet government goals.
The Primary Sector Council’s Fit for a Better World strategy has identified reducing climate change, healthy water, reversing the decline in biodiversity and providing healthy food as being top priorities, a strategy that’s being echoed by regional councils.
The Te Tauihu Intergenerational Strategy in the Top of the South identified the need for an acceleration of initiatives to respond and improve climate change and water stewardship, in conjunction with a further development if high value food, ingredients and wellness solutions.
Water stewardship and climate change were also identified in KPMG’s 2020 Agribusiness Agenda where there was almost universal acknowledgment from all contributors — male, female, young and old — that we need to place greater priority on how we protect and utilise our land, water, soils and oceans.
Organic production methods mitigate these challenges by focusing on the health of soil, carbon-sequestering through plants, preventing soil erosion, preserving natural habitat areas, reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (as developed by the Climate Change Response Act), and reversing the decline in biodiversity. Healthy biodiversity plays a critical role in how resilient, or not, a farm is to issues such as bad weather, disease, and pests.
The Ministry for the Environment’s Freshwater 2020 summary identified excess nutrients (like nitrogen), and chemical pesticides and fertilisers have entered freshwater and are causing harm, and have been detected in groundwater. Concentrations of these pollutants are higher in urban, farming, and forestry areas.
The 2020 National Climate Change Risk Assessment has identified risks to land-based primary sector productivity and output due to changing precipitation and water availability, temperature, seasonality, climate extremes and the distribution of invasive species. These risks have been classified as major and in need of prioritising because of how these environmental challenges threaten New Zealand’s economy.
Organic agriculture has known techniques that address these important issues and benefit our ecosystems. Organic farms create less pollution, protecting the health of our waterways while contributing to biodiversity. Well-managed organic soils can also store significant amounts of carbon, stabilising our climate and keeping our planet habitable for generations to come.
Organic also supports strong economies. The market for organic produce, in New Zealand and around the world, continues to grow every year. New Zealand’s organic producers are capitalising on this inspiring trend as more and more consumers seek out healthy, safe food, beverages, and personal care products.
Protecting and regenerating our precious environment should work parallel to New Zealand’s economic growth and development opportunities. One of OANZ’ goals is to deliver a growth strategy that unites our sector, so we can work together to overcome shared challenges and leverage opportunities as a future-focused sector.
OANZ will continue to bridge the benefits of organic production with key policy initiatives and drive government awareness of the benefits provided across the value chain.