Recent weather events have raised food security concerns for parts of New Zealand’s primary-production sectors and leading environmental scientist Dr Brent Clothier says a significant shift in focus is required to manage growing food demands and increased pressure on land and water globally.
At the upcoming World Avocado Congress in taking place in Auckland in April, Dr Clothier, Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research New Zealand, will advocate that more investment is required into natural capital as a priority.
“We need to invest more in our soils, waters, and biodiversity, so that we can receive enhanced value from the ecosystem services that they provide us. The return-on-investment into nature is huge. It’s more than just about ‘sustaining’. It’s about ‘building’ our natural capital stocks. Growing populations, growing demands for food, growing pressures on our lands and waters, plus climate change conspire to create many opportunities and raise many challenges for our primary production systems in general, and for avocado production, in particular,” says Dr Clothier.
The congress will cover pertinent topics across the entire avocado value chain, including the future of food, sustainability, climate change, food trends, food security, agritech innovation, global supply chains and the lifecycle for avocado production. This is the largest horticultural event ever to be held in NZ, with more than 1100 people attending, representing 32 countries. Taking place in Auckland from 2-5 April, the congress is comprised of a three day academic programme with eight international and national keynote speakers and more than 130 presentations.
Dr Clothier – current President of the New Zealand Royal Society Te Apārangi - will discuss what investment in soils, water, and biodiversity might look like for avocado orchards and will consider the return on this investment into nature. His research into soil, water, and sustainability issues facing New Zealand’s (and the world’s) horticulture industries, has led to the development of new technologies to directly measure water use by trees and vines which have helped improve water management in water-short regions globally.
“Not only are we working in New Zealand, but we are working with small-holder farmers in the highlands of Kenya on a public-private aid partnership to grow their avocados for both oil and fresh export. We are working in Abu Dhabi on critical water and salt issues with the production of high-quality dates, and other crops,” says Dr Clothier.
Jen Scoular, CEO of New Zealand Avocado and current Chair of the World Avocado Congress Committee, says: “A considerable part of New Zealand’s food production sector has been impacted by recent weather events so Brent’s focus couldn’t be more timely or more relevant to the focus of the Congress theme: ‘Respectful’; respect for people, respect for environment and respect for our future’.”
For more information:
Jen Scoular
New Zealand Avocado
Tel: +64 7 571 6147
Email: communications@nzavocado.co.nz
www.wacnz2023.com