Backing growers to produce more value from the land they care for

Growers, farmers, processors, exporters, Ministers, MPs and officials may work in different parts of the system, but we are all focused on the same question: how do we create more value from the land while protecting the resources that sustain it?

That question was evident when the Ministry for Primary Industries released its latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report.

The figures are really encouraging. Horticulture export revenue, including wine, is forecast to rise seven per cent to $9.5 billion in the year to 30 June 2026, and to more than $9.7 billion the following year.

Kiwifruit, apples and pears are expected to do much of the heavy lifting. That is positive for growers and for the country. At a time when New Zealand needs productive growth, horticulture is again showing it can make a significant contribution.

The sector earns export income, supports regional jobs, underpins local businesses and supplies consumers here and overseas with high-quality nutritious food.

None of that happens by chance. It reflects years of investment, innovation and hard work by growers and the wider supply chain.

But strong national numbers can hide a more complicated picture on the ground. Export revenue is not the same thing as profitability behind the farm-gate, and a good headline does not pay a grower’s bills.

Growers are still managing high costs for the likes of fuel and fertiliser.

Vegetable exporters are under particular pressure, with export revenue forecast to ease three per cent to $710 million, followed by a further decline before recovery.

This is important for rural New Zealand because horticulture is not separate from the wider primary sector. It relies on the same roads and ports, faces the same weather and biosecurity risks, and contributes to the same regional economies.

The Government and MPI are right to recognise horticulture’s potential. The challenge now is turning that potential into sustainable gains for growers, communities and New Zealand’s food and fibre sector.

That is why the way we talk about land use matters. For growers, flexibility is not a slogan. It is the ability to make informed, commercially realistic decisions as markets, climate, water access, labour availability and local constraints change.

The Fieldays announcement provides a useful case study. The Government is contributing $19.14 million, alongside investment from Zespri and New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated, to a five-year kiwifruit programme worth $47.87 million.

At its best, that kind of investment should help growers test what actually works in commercial orchards: better canopy systems, sharper use of data, practical science, and more disciplined use of water and nutrients.

The opportunity is not just more production. It is producing value more reliably from land already in use, while reducing waste, improving fruit quality and lowering pressure on the environment.

That lesson applies well beyond kiwifruit. Whether the enterprise is fruit, vegetables, dairy, sheep and beef, arable or forestry, the best results come when land-use decisions are grounded in evidence, local knowledge and a clear view of market demand.

In practice, that might mean lifting performance from an existing block, changing varieties, adding protected cropping, investing in storage or irrigation, altering rotations, or shifting land use over time where the numbers, the environment and the community context support it.

For horticulture, this is critical because the sector is diverse. A policy setting that works for a large export orchard may not work for a vegetable grower supplying local and export markets, or for a business dealing with processing constraints.

The test will be whether the knowledge generated is made useful beyond the immediate project. Growers need information they can apply to their own soils, water limits, labour realities, debt levels and market pathways.

That is the practical value of flexibility. It gives producers more options when costs rise, labour is tight, water is limited, markets move, biosecurity risks appear or extreme weather changes what is possible.

However, if the sector is to reach its full potential, growth must be profitable as well as sustainable. It must support innovation without adding unnecessary complexity, and recognise the importance of both export crops and the fruit and vegetables that feed New Zealanders every day.

The ambition to double the farmgate value of horticulture production by 2035 remains achievable. But it will require clear policy, coordinated investment and a willingness to think differently about what we grow, where we grow it and how we create value.

That includes stronger biosecurity, access to effective crop protection tools, reliable water, sensible environmental settings, a capable workforce, functioning infrastructure, and planning rules that recognise commercial fruit and vegetable production as essential.

It also means land-use policy that starts with real businesses, not theory. Growers need room to adjust, invest and innovate where that leads to stronger productivity, stronger profitability and better environmental outcomes.

The good years are when we should do the hard thinking. If New Zealand wants horticulture to keep strengthening rural communities and contributing to national prosperity, we need conditions that allow growers to make smart long-term decisions.

That means backing them to produce more value from the land they care for, while protecting the water and soils future generations will depend on.