5 minutes with Donald Nordeng Chief Executive Officer BioGro New Zealand What is your background and how did your passion for organics originate? When I was in Japan in 1992, I was fortunate to be working for a small specialty import company Taneyama ga Hara Co. Ltd as import manager with Norio Inaba. Norio’s vision was to specialise in importing organic food from around the world and introduce this concept to Japan. This is where I learned about and met many of the pioneers of the organic movement. Later my business partners and I founded the first organic certifier in Japan in 1996 which deepened my passion.
What do you think the biggest drawcard for organic farming and growing is? In New Zealand organic has never gained much traction until recently. Comparatively in Europe and the United States between 10-15 percent of the food market is certified organic. The drawcard is really the pool of highly motivated consumers and the huge $150 billion market opportunity that continues to grow, despite the pandemic. For farmers and growers wanting to turn their produce organic, where do they start? It all begins with the land itself. Organic production is about removing unnecessary chemicals from production methods so the earlier this is achieved the better. It’s important to do your research and speak to those
within the sector who can help you with this transition. BioGro offer an Initial Contact Meeting service, where an experienced auditor will visit your farm to gain a good understanding of your operation. Whilst there, they will answer all your questions and assess how viable it is for your property or operation to become certified. There is an absolute wealth of knowledge in organics within New Zealand, so be sure to utilise this by speaking to the experts. If you are not sure where to start, BioGro will happily point you in the right direction. What are some of the challenges facing the organic industry? For the New Zealand organic industry specifically, funding would be one of the biggest challenges.
As we start to understand the impacts of climate change, organic regenerative production is also becoming recognised as a solution to a more sustainable future..”
4 | THE FARMLANDER
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