Boosting Māori primary produce

Tuesday, 11 February, 2014

The Federation of Māori Authorities and the Massey University-led Riddet Institute have signed an agreement aimed at providing distinctiveness and added value to Māori primary produce.

The institute is a national centre of research excellence, based at the university’s Manawatū campus, involving scientists from AgResearch, Plant and Food Research and the Universities of Auckland and Otago as well as Massey.

Under the agreement with the federation, it will provide strategic advice on food research and innovation for specific opportunities that have been identified by the Māori authorities.

In 2012, the institute published a report called ‘A Call to Arms’ that said Māori agri-food assets form 15% of national dairy production, 18-20% of beef and lamb production and 50% of seafood production - and have considerable growth potential beyond that.

Institute food innovation manager Dr Abby Thompson says the new agreement "recognises the synergy that is possible through our working more closely together". Dr Thompson says a key role of the institute is supporting the growth and development of New Zealand’s agri-food industry, while the federation has a similar role in advancing the Māori economy, which is currently valued at about $37 billion.

Federation chief executive TeHoripo Karaitiana says the Māori agri-business sector had lifted its performance considerably over the past decade and is now looking beyond the farm gate at niche, high-value opportunities in the international marketplace. “That makes a relationship with an internationally recognised research provider, such as the Riddet, all the more important,” Karaitiana says. “They will be able to help us understand what the future of food is, and how we should be positioning ourselves and looking to distinguish our market offerings.”

He noted that the institute’s expertise and areas of research interest extended well beyond traditional food forms into the new means of delivering nutrition and supporting nutritional uptake. “These are areas we need to turn our attention to."

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