Growing Change programme gives growers head start on freshwater farm plans

Commercial fruit and vegetable growers across the country are getting ahead of freshwater farm plan regulations through Horticulture New Zealand’s Growing Change project.

The project was launched in June 2022 and is due to finish next month (June), having achieved its goals of increasing adoption of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) through Freshwater Farm Plans (FWFP) in 10 priority regions, plus developing a freshwater micro-credential for existing and future professionals in the horticulture sector.

Arjune Dahya, one of three Regional Extension Officers for Growing Change, said there had been really good uptake from growers in the regions which included one-on-one support time with trained advisors to achieve the New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP) Environment Management System (EMS) add on.

This enables growers to meet requirements for their FWFPs ahead of the national roll out of the Government’s Resource Management (Freshwater Farm Plans) Regulations.

“The response has been really great. There have been a lot of proactive growers keen to take part,” says Dahya.

“Growers were provided with eight hours of fully funded support, over eight months, to sit down with advisors who we had put through training around the NZGAP-EMS and HortNZ’s Codes of Practice.

“That provided growers with everything they needed to complete the development of the EMS Add-on which will serve as their FWFP.

“The benefit is that the EMS is aligned to existing industry assurance programmes which growers are already following so it reduces duplications and streamlines the process for them.”

Growing Change has also delivered additional support through a series of technical workshops across regions.

For vegetable growers, that covered use of the free Sustainable Vegetable Systems (SVS) tool, which offers real-time nutrient management decision-making support. Fruit growers took part in water and irrigation workshops.

“There has also been very good uptake for the workshops and we have more coming up in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne in June,” says Dahya.

“Vegetable growers are encouraged to bring their digital devices so we can work though the SVS tool together. 

“Growing Change has also contributed, with industry stakeholders, to the development of the new Assess and manage risks to freshwater from horticulture production micro-credential which will be delivered by Primary ITO and Fruition Horticulture.”

Growing Change has targeted locations across the country where higher water risks exist. Current projects being completed are in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Northland and Bay of Plenty.

In Northland, HortNZ through the Growing Change project, has partnered with Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) on a programme to build resilience across the Northland/Te Tai Tokerau kūmara industry.

Growers in the Northern Wairoa catchment are being encouraged to participate in the KMR pilot project to achieve best management practice on the land and restore local waterways. This includes fencing and native planting initiatives.

Planting got underway on 1 May at Simpson Gardens kūmara farm in Ruawai.

“The KMR programme is designed to assist Northland primary sector landowners in the Kaipara Moana catchment in reducing sediment loss by up to 50 per cent and restoring waterways. That aligns well with the Growing Change objectives,” says Dahya.

“KMR provides species that also align with HortNZ’s A Lighter Touch (ALT) programme which supports sustainable farming that works with nature.

“The planting at Ruawai included coastal tree daisy, mingimingi and pohuehue, which are beneficial to crops, so that was a nice correlation with ALT. Several more Growing Change growers have signed up for the KMR programme.

“The Kaipara Moana is culturally important to the people of the region. Our growers are proud custodians of the land. They recognise that the work of KMR will support resilience to climate change, help improve farm biodiversity and reduce run off and sediment loss.”

Growing Change is a three-year partnership between HortNZ and the Ministry for the Environment (MfE). Funded through the Essential Freshwater Fund, administered by MfE, it aims to build capacity and capability within the horticulture sector, and enduring support for growers, to deliver GAP freshwater farm plans.