July 2022 Update - Organic Sector Strategy Action Groups

2022-2025 ORGANIC SECTOR ACTION GROUPS

Each month OANZ volunteers meet to discuss and drive forward the 2022—2025 Organic Sector Strategy and the priority sector-wide projects:

  • Establish an organic farmer extension programme

  • Increase consumer recognition of organic as an effective environmental and nutritional solution

  • Create an organic ecosystem database

  • Build partnerships and collaborations between the organic sector and other agricultural industries

  • Support the development and implementation of the Organic Products Bill, standards and regulations

We'll keep you informed of essential information, progress, timelines, etc. via this blog. Anyone from the sector can join a group at any time, if you have a passion for organics and skills you'd like to share we invite you to learn more by emailing tiffany@oanz.org or a specific project below resonates.

Read the full Organic Sector Strategy HERE and get the latest on the priority projects below.

Updated on 12 July 2022

Project: Establish an Organic Farmer Extension Programme

Purpose: Create a specific organic programme that focuses on solutions for organic agriculture to improve the mental health of organic farmers who have felt marginalised; Assist current and potential organic farmers in increasing their effectiveness and knowledge of organics; Help move all farmers away from synthetic nitrogen, harmful pesticides and herbicides and move towards practices that better work with nature and sequester more carbon.

Update: Action group members are meeting on 12 July to help prepare for an "extension stocktake". Attendees of this meeting will review & provide input into the draft form for the Sector to complete. Once our stocktake form is complete, OANZ will send it out across the Sector - both organisations and individuals - to identify the best extension services needed for each sub-sector.

The Sector will have 3-4 weeks to complete the questions. The group can then lay out a framework that we can use to apply for extension programme funding.

The next meeting will occur the third week in August.

    • Farmers are educated and able to communicate the benefits of organic production, enticing a new generation of farmers

    • Increased knowledge transfer by farm advisors and farmers

    • Regenerative agriculture and organics are more aligned and collaborative

    • Practical mentoring, discussion groups and organic ambassadors

    • Pathways created to grow the next generations of Māori organic producers and farmers

    • Implementation and uptake of Hua Parakore is supported

    • Māori use of mātauranga Māori to support the distinctiveness of Māori participation in organics

    • Increased organic production supply to meet global demand

    • Confirm Participation: Identify those organisations and groups that want to collaborate. Clarify their desired roles and relationship in an Extension programme

    • Identify Extension Programme funding opportunities: Identify potential extension programme funding options and their investment conditions. Clarify the resource needs for the development of extension programme and a funding application. Obtain the resources/commitment for facilitating the above

    • Design the Extension programme and prepare the funding application: Obtain feedback from the Group to identify generic extension as well as sector specific extension needs. Collaboratively design the extension programme. Facilitate wider sector consultation on draft extension programme plan. Develop funding proposal

    • Programme Implementation

  • This group is seeking funding to design an extension programme. OANZ CEO, Tiffany Tompkins has met with MPI to understand which funds may be the most appropriate to apply for. The Action groups will start working on the principles behind the design and application foundations. 

  • Chair - Jon Manhire (The AgriBusiness Group)

    Secretary - Christina Robinson (Zespri- Global Extension Lead Sustainability)

Project: Increase Consumer Recognition of Organic as an Effective Environmental and Nutritional Solution

Purpose: Identify the sector's "WHY". Determine how best to communicate organics to consumers, farmers and the government.

Update: This group is meeting fortnightly via zoom. This group has formulated desired outcomes and a draft plan. Group members have started writing three reasons for "Why Organic?" from the consumer perspective. 

Everyone is invited to join in this exercise. We need as much participation in the group's current activity because the results will help steer the ship for how Aotearoa will communicate organics to consumers. 

The Task: Write three key messages for "Why Organic" from a consumer perspective. 

You can think about yourself as a consumer or someone that usually does not buy organics; it doesn't matter. For this exercise, we are not defining the consumer; we want to look at this from a broad perspective. Please complete the form below with your answers.

The next meeting is July 19, 10 - 11 am. Everyone welcome, RSVP to: tiffany@oanz.org 

    • Increased demand for New Zealand organic products

    • More New Zealand based research and science supporting organic production, ecology and land management

    • Health and environmental benefits of organic agriculture are communicated to consumers, farmers and government

    • Key influencers and spokespeople promote New Zealand’s organic sector across media platforms

    • Increased support for the development of the organic category

    • An organic narrative including mātauranga Māori principles, unique to Aotearoa New Zealand is created for use by producers, brand owners and exporters domestically and in international markets

    • Existing organic campaigns, especially Organic Week, have the opportunity to be built upon

    • New collaborations and structures are established with mainstream media

  • RESEARCH

    • Understanding the current evidence

    • Providing new evidence

    • Key drivers and barriers

    • Understanding sustainability & health benefits


      MĀORI PARTNERSHIP

    • Understanding and integrating the 7 pillars

    • NZ own-able stories

      TARGET AUDIENCE

    • Determining the audience

    • Segmentation and positioning

    • Global or domestic?

    FUNDING

    • Types of funding required and availability

    • Politics behind the accessibility

    COMMUNICATION

    • What is organic?

    • Key messaging

    • Per segment, if required

    • Draw upon research and science

  • Gather data and create key messages for ‘Why Organic’.

  • Chair - Robyn Vickery (BioGro, Marketing & Communications Manager)

    Secretary - Marion Wood (Commonsense Organics & Soil and Health Association)

Project: Create an Organic Ecosystem Database

Purpose: Create a national database for organic resources. The objective is to allow for better sharing of resources across the sector and reduce knowledge and technical barriers to entry.

Update: This group meets weekly and is using a Lean Canvas template as a way to stimulate more discussions and thinking about this project. The team is currently looking at the following areas:

  1. Target Customers

  2. The Problem

  3. Unique Value Proposition

  4. Your Solution

  5. Channels

  6. Future Revenue/Funding Streams

  7. Funding Ask

  8. Success Metrics

  9. Your Differentiator

  10. Government Value

  11. MPI Value

    • A national database of all organic resources available to all producers in an easy searchable format such as a website or app

    • Allow for better sharing of resources across the sector

    • Knowledge and technical based barriers to entry are reduced

  • Set up an online collaboration board: Create a collaboration board which can show the real time status update, our progress, next steps etc. This board will help us plan and visualise in real time - what will be achieved by when, based on the team velocity of getting things done.

    Defining user personas and value roadmap: We want to set up a session around the objectives for each persona whom we recognise as our customer and stage out the delivery plan to ensure that our group is able to deliver value fast and incremental value which our personas can start utilising early on.

    Identification of skills matrix: We want to identify the skills we need for successful execution of the project.

    Begin implementation and value delivery early on: There may be options for us to create an interim solution which we could start using for the sake of early value delivery to our customers. Once we have funding, we could review the technical backend infrastructure we need for the long run. We will plan it in a manner that anything we do now for the prototype is not wasted and can be reused in some ways.

  • The team will send specific questions to primary producers to better understand their needs, best practices and technological capacity.

  • Chair - Malkiat Singh

Project: Organic Products Bill, Regs and Standards

Purpose: With work on the standard and regulations underway, the sector must communicate best practices and maintain that the new regime is fit-for-purpose.

Update: MPI is getting closer to starting its meetings with Working Group attendees and the Interim Advisory Council. The sessions will begin in August. Working Group members are contacted directly by MPI with date and location details. 

The next MPI update will be held on Thursday, 14 July, at 1 - 2 pm via Zoom. OANZ Members can access the recording of this meeting by logging in to the membership portal. Otherwise, there will be another update next month.

Please get in touch with tiffany@oanz.org if you would like the link to join this meeting. 

    • A technical Committee and Advisory Council are established

    • Standards and regulations support the sector

    • The regime does not add cost to producers, processors or retailers

    • International trade agreements with global certification recognition are established

    • Increased clarity and trust around the use of ‘organic’

    • The Official Organic Assurance Programme has increased data available on markets

    • The Hua Parakore system operates in partnership with the OPB

  • To follow

  • MPI is looking to start the working groups in July/August. Final nominations are being accepted now. The Advisory Council will hold its first meeting after the working groups are launched. Beef+Lamb will not be joining the Interim Advisory Council.

  • Chair - Derek Broadmore

    Secretary - Claire Bleakley

Project: Build Ag Industry Partnerships and Collaborations

Purpose: Build upon and develop multi-level partnerships with farmer levy organisations.

Update: Join Ed Massey, GM Sustainability of NZ Winegrowers, to talk about how organics play an essential role in this levy organisation's greater sustainability initiatives.

We'll also learn about NZ Winegrowers' relationship with Organic Winegrowers NZ and how these two organisations are the best examples of a supportive and cooperative relationship between a levy organisation and an organic organisation. 

The group will be meeting on 26 July 1-2 pm via Zoom. Contact tiffany@oanz.org for the Zoom link.

  • Build upon working relationships with HortNZ, Beef&Lamb, NZ Winegrowers and DiaryNZ to support the regenerative organic aspirations of farmers and producers

    The Organic Sector works with the agritech sector to develop better technological solutions.

  • This group has asked levy bodies and organic organisations working with levy bodies to share their experiences working together. We've asked levy bodies to answer questions regarding how organics is viewed, supported and promoted within the organisation. For instance, is organics a part of the levy organisation's sustainability initiatives? How are the interests of organic producers considered when writing submissions, creating environmental and extension programmes and policy compliance?

  • At the end of Phase 1 the group will present its findings at the 23 September Organic Day of Action.

  • Chair, Tiffany Tompkins, CEO, OANZ

    Secretary, Gaz Ingram, Technical Lead - Organics, Farmlands

Join us for our first in-person event in what feels like an age! OANZ is hosting an Organic Action Day in Wellington this September, and we'd love you to come.

Since the launch of the 2022-25 Organic Sector Strategy ‘Taking Action for a Better New Zealand’ late last year, Sector volunteers have met regularly to drive forward the key projects established. Each group will form a panel, present their work to date and engage the audience in a discussion about the future of each project.

Let’s talk about the future of organics in Aotearoa, featuring presentations from sector leaders, panel discussions, guest speakers, lunch and an opportunity to network with Aotearoa's organic community.

Tickets are on sale now!

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