Northland kūmara growers ready for new Freshwater Farm Plan rules

NZ Herald

7 days ago

The aim is to improve water quality and reverse past damage to waterways while recognising the good work many growers were already doing.
According to Northland Regional Council, the region's biggest freshwater problems are high levels of sediment and Escherichia coli (E. coli), and a lack of riparian vegetation to support healthy ecosystems.
The new rules were designed to address these problems and ensure growers operated within environmental limits.
Blundell said Northland growers had been working with Horticulture New Zealand's (HortNZ) Growing Change programme and Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) to ensure their Freshwater Farm Plans were ready before the rollout.
Through Growing Change, HortNZ provided one-on-one support from horticultural consultants to help growers develop their plans using the NZ Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP) Environmental Management System (EMS) add-on.
Blundell's company and its suppliers were among the first to gain NZGAP accreditation. Growing Change also partnered with KMR to build resilience across the Northland/Te Tai Tokerau kūmara industry, including through native planting schemes.
Kūmara is gaining popularity overseas and widely considered a superfood. Photo / Unsplash, Mary Potoplyak
Blundell said support was critical as growers faced escalating costs and increasing regulation.
'There's a compliance cost – and all the costs of growing keep rising: machinery, diesel, fertiliser, electricity, rates, freight, and land.'
HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott said that with mounting pressure on the horticulture sector, regulatory settings needed to support growers like those producing kūmara in Northland to keep growing healthy, affordable food.
Blundell also serves on the executive of United Fresh, which promotes fruit and vegetables to consumers.
He said another threat to the sector – and NZ's food security – was a shift in consumer habits from fresh vegetables to cheaper, less nutritious options like rice or pasta.
Blundell said sweet potato was gaining popularity overseas in Europe, Spain, and the United States and was widely recognised as a superfood.
Kūmara holds deep cultural importance. The Ōwairaka red variety, commonly used in hāngī, is not grown anywhere else in the world.
The vegetable's significance to Māori was recognised under the Wai 262 claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, which protected taonga Māori.
New Zealand does not import kūmara – a status Blundell said is worth protecting. Biosecurity risks were high, and almost all kūmara grown locally was consumed domestically, with only some frozen wedges exported to Australia.
Most kūmara production is based in Northland/Te Tai Tokerau, which supplies 90% of the domestic market. It is a vital industry for this region, where a socio-economic profile of Kaipara district last year found 42.3% of residents lived in the most deprived decile.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years' experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.