5 minutes with Damien O'Connor Minister of Agriculture
New Zealand also began a third round of negotiations on a free trade agreement with the UK in late January
Congratulations on retaining your portfolio following the 2020 election. What has been on your summer priority list?
and is close to completing one with the
What a year 2020 was! After COVID-19
a much-needed break over summer,
In the face of COVID-19, what stories do the NZ food and fibre industry want to be telling the world about our produce?
spending time at home doing the
We have some of the best farmers
turned our world upside down and we then fought an election campaign, I had
usual stock and maintenance jobs on our 8 hectares of land. I also rode my motorbike through the South Island from the West Coast-Tasman region where I live and am the proud local MP
EU. I had to hit the ground running this year! Parliament resumes this month, so it’s straight back into it.
in the world and I know we can be the best farmers for the world. New Zealand produce already had a global reputation for being ethically produced and of premium quality and now our
and got to spend a bit of time with four
success fighting COVID-19 has really
of my five daughters. The fifth lives in
put us on the map as a safe country
London so unfortunately, I won’t get to
and this is invaluable for our food and
see her for a while.
fibre industry. A New Zealand Trade
Being a Minister means work is never
and Enterprise campaign called Made
far away. Taking on the additional
with Care is telling the world how our
responsibility of the Trade portfolio after
progressive country and innovative
last year’s election meant I did a bit of
people are producing some of the best
reading over summer to get ready to
foods in the world in a way that’s good
host this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic
for them as consumers and good for
Cooperation (APEC) meeting.
the planet.
We have some of the best farmers in the world and I know we can be the best farmers for the world. New Zealand produce already had a global reputation for being ethically produced and of premium quality.”
4 | THE FARMLANDER
Export recovery is one of the five planks of our Government’s economic recovery. Last November, the Prime Minister announced that officials were starting to look at how we can boost our exports. She also confirmed that once borders open, she will lead business delegations to our key trading partners, including the US, China, the UK and the EU. Last year the Government invested $200 million in supporting exporters to take full advantage of our country’s reputation, so they could continue doing business despite international travel restrictions. Telling our story of how we successfully managed COVID to date will also help to attract international investment into our productive sectors and help the economic recovery. With a lack of foreign workers available in the coming seasons, what will be changing to support local farmers and growers in 2021? The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has been helping the horticulture, agriculture and forestry sectors grow their local workforces through its Opportunity Grows Here campaign. The Farmlander readers might have seen news reports of former airline, tourism and hospitality workers retraining in Central Otago and enjoying their new lives behind the wheel of a tractor or picking fruit. They are just some of the people who are discovering that primary industries can offer
Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited | © February 2021. All rights reserved.
WWW.FARMLANDS.CO.NZ
