June edition of The BUZZ, Organic Aotearoa's monthly newsletter.

Hello and welcome to the June edition of The BUZZ, Organic Aotearoa’s monthly dose of news from the organic sector and beyond.

In November last year, OANZ launched a landmark strategy to take New Zealand's fast-growing organic production sector to the next level. The strategy, 'Taking Action for a Better New Zealand', aims to contribute a cumulative $4.7b to New Zealand's GDP by 2030. Since the strategy launch, a team of hard-working volunteers from the Organic Sector has met regularly to drive forward the priority projects that will ultimately achieve the strategy's goals.

We invite you to join us in Wellington on the 23rd and 24th of September. We are coming together with the Soil & Health Association for two days of organic action! OANZ will host its AGM on Friday, after which will be a strategy workshop with guest speakers and presentations from the Organic Sector Strategy groups. You'll hear how the strategy is shaping up and where to next. Saturday 24th September is Soil & Health's AGM, plus more guest speakers. I am hoping many of you will make an effort to join us. It will be wonderful to catch up with friends again, old and new. Everyone is welcome.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you all who have been involved in the strategy action groups, developing the next steps for our Organic Sector. It will be exciting to have these groups reporting back to us during our workshops in Wellington.

Last month, OANZ kicked into its next phase. Our organisation is growing our capacity with the recruitment of Tiffany Tompkins as CEO. Tiff has big goals for OANZ, and she's hit the ground running. I joined Tiff in Wellington last week as we work to build relationships with the central Government. Although there seems to be little progress on the Organic Products Bill, work continues behind the scenes, and we are working hard to get cross-sector representation on the Interim Advisory Board and Working Groups.

Talking of capacity building, the work we are doing now is only made possible by our members and supporters, those of you who share our vision for a world regenerated through organics. June is Membership Month, and I implore you to consider supporting OANZ by joining or making a donation.

Find out how you can take action here.

Ngā mihi nui,

Chris 

Chris Morrison – Chair 
T: 027 548 1293