Existing Programmes
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Existing Programmes
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Sustainable Management Systems
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Organic Production Programmes.
There are a number of organic standards which are aligned to the international organic standards under the NZ Food Safety Authority - Official Organic Assurance Programme. These include:
- Bio-Gro;
- The AgriQuality Standard, operated by Certenz
An NZ Organic Standard is being developed by Standards NZ.
There is a rapidly growing international market for certified organic products. Consumers typically pay a premium for these products which provides producers with an incentive for production.
Available Online: Website Alternate
Website
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SmartPlan™
SmartPlan™ has been developed for the NZ dairy industry by Livestock Improvement's FarmWise Consultancy Service. It was launched at the end of 2002 as a sustainable farm management service. The programme has been developed to help dairy farmers deal proactively with social, work and environmental issues as well as financial aspects of the farm business. The programme is based on a personalised plan developed between the FarmWise consultant and the farmer with guidance on regional and industry sustainability requirements.
The definition of 'sustainable' used by SmartPlan™ is: "An improvement" in the productive performance of the dairy farm system without depleting the natural resource base upon which future performance depends; and being economically (profitability) socially (communities) and environmentally sustainable. Environment encompasses land, water, air, communities and animals.
The programme establishes mechanisms for the farmer to evaluate on-farm activities in terms of environmental, financial, social and work sustainability and developing individually tailored solutions to address issues identified. The programme is delivered via the on-farm consultancy service FarmWise. A consultant visits the farm, interviews the farmer and develops a specific targeted plan to address the sustainability issues that affect the business. There are three aspects to the Plan - a data profile, a farm walk and an Action Plan.
Available Online: Website
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Sustainable Winegrowing.
The Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) programme, which was previously called New Zealand Integrated Winegrape Production when it first began development in 1995, has released the 4th Edition of its technical manual. The programme has been modelled on a Swiss Integrated Fruit Production system. Three hundred and eight growers, reflecting 60% of the production area, adopted the programme in the 2001/2002 season, although the programme is still voluntary within the industry.
SWNZ is a holistic approach which seeks to encompass all appropriate environmentally and economically sustainable winegrape production methods suitable to NZ conditions into a single set of consistent and transparent standards, giving priority to methods that are the safest possible for the environment and human health. It includes management of soils and fertilisers, pest and diseases, use of agrichemicals, cover crop and irrigation management, sward management, integrated plant protection and recognises the importance of achieving a balance between environmental and economic factors in production.
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The Green Project.
The Green Project concept initially evolved through the input by a number of parties with an interest in facilitating the establishment of a significant supply base to satisfy international, most significantly the UK market, demand for organic meat. However the initial focus on developing an organic standard broadened to the establishment of an integrated/sustainable production standard for pastoral production. Support for a project to develop and pilot the concept was obtained from Richmond Ltd, MAF Sustainable Farming Fund and the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development. In the early stages the project was called 'Green Tick' but this name had been trademarked by the Green Tick Technologies, so use of the name by the project was withdrawn. At one stage development of a NZ Standard was considered but did not get widespread industry support, so has not been pursued.
Available Online: Website
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