Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) is calling on the Government to ensure changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) do not put vital domestic fruit and vegetable production at risk. The organization, which represents the interests of about 4,200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers, is seeking a range of amendments to proposed reforms, including recognition of the national importance of protecting highly productive land (HPL) for primary production and enabling the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.
HortNZ has also written to Ministers highlighting the need for changes including permitted activity for discharges from commercial vegetable production (CVP), managed with a certified freshwater farm plan (FWFP).
"National promised to make fruit and vegetables a permitted activity in 2024. We urgently need them to deliver on that promise, through these RMA amendments," says Nadine Tunley, chief executive of HortNZ.
"Minister Chris Bishop has said the government will change the Act to make it easier to build houses and renewable energy. We accept that people need houses, but they also need to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. If the government makes building houses easier, then it also needs to make changes to the RMA to enable the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. If the amendments do not recognize the importance of that, it will increase the risks to New Zealand's food supply and exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis."
While the New Zealand population grew by 138,000 last year, council rules are currently preventing vegetable growers from growing more produce, says Tunley.
"While housing has gobbled up highly productive land over the past 10 years, the area for growing vegetables has not expanded at all. This is because the RMA is preventing vegetable growers from expanding in many regions.
The localized effects of CVP can be managed with a FWFP, without causing significant adverse environmental effects, and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater supports the management of cumulative effects though freshwater limits."
The horticulture sector plays a vital role in food security in New Zealand. Approximately 80,000 hectares of land is used for producing fruit and vegetables, providing over 40,000 jobs. Over 80 percent of vegetables grown are for the domestic market, with many varieties of fruit also serving the New Zealand market.
Source: hortnz.co.nz