TECHNICAL
TIME FOR A STRATEGY REFRESH NEW DIRECTIONS FOR VEGETABLE RESEARCH & INNOVATION Words by Sally Anderson, VR&I co-ordinator
The Vegetable Research & Innovation Board is a collaborative membership of seven organisations; five vegetable Product Groups (Vegetables NZ, Process Vegetables NZ, TomatoesNZ, Onions NZ, the NZ Buttercup Squash Council), the Foundation for Arable Research and Plant & Food Research being represented on the VR&I Board. The core purpose of the VR&I Board is to underpin sustainable growth of the vegetable sector. The Board achieves this by developing, resourcing, and managing a cross-sector research portfolio.
The power of collaborative research The VR&I Board has a unique position within Horticulture New Zealand in that it is a mechanism through which vegetable Product Groups can work collaboratively to invest in a research and development (R&D) programme. The effectiveness of this collective approach is demonstrated by the return on investment that the VR&I research programme currently delivers. In 2019 the VR&I Board invested just over $250,000 directly into research programmes. This investment is leveraging well over $15 million of total research value. This equates to an over 40 times return on investment in terms of the real-dollar research value of these projects. Over five years ago the VR&I strategic plan for research was launched. The four key research themes adopted by the Board were categorised as Agrichemicals, Environment and Nutrient Management, Food Safety/Water Use, and Biosecurity. These themes have been used to frame the research priorities and needs of the contributing vegetable Product Groups over the last five years.
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NZGROWER : AUGUST 2020
In the intervening period the landscape has changed for growers, particularly with increasing regulatory pressure both regionally and nationally around land use, water availability, water quality and nitrogen leaching. The unavailability of new crop protection tools to control pests and diseases is also challenging the ability of growers to control key production pests and manage resistance due to the lack of new modes of action. As David Hadfield, the chair of the VR&I Board notes, the themes adopted by the Board at the time were by necessity quite broad and wide-ranging and this has challenged the VR&I Board to focus its R&D activities.
In 2019 the VR&I Board invested just over $250,000 directly into research programmes. This investment is leveraging well over $15 million of total research value. “There have however, been many research successes including the publication in 2019 of a Nutrient Management Guide for vegetable crops,� David says. This guide provides the latest nutrient recommendations and bestpractice advice for all vegetable growers. The Board have also published guidance on the use of acephate and methamidophos chemistry, as well as best management practice guides to manage soil movement by farm vehicles, and a web-based app to calculate erosion and sediment loss, all based on research that has been funded by the VR&I Board. The Board has also been instrumental in supporting the initial development phases of the Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures (SFFF): A Lighter Touch agroecology research programme. This $27 million seven-year programme has
