Organic Advisory Service Meeting to be held
Organic Advisory Service Meeting to be held in Manuwatu / Horowhenua
Wednesday May 10, 1pm - 4pm, St Johns Church Hall Camden Street Fielding
With the recently announced Government funding for an Organics Advisory Service, the organic sector umbrella organisation, Organics Aotearoa New Zealand is having a consultation workshop in Fielding, May 10, to help design how an advisory service would best work for the organic sector.
Research and
Development will also be covered and the free meetings are
open to all.
To hear about developments in the organic
sector and be part of the process, all primary producers,
processors, researchers, and consultants are invited whether
organic or not, as the information gathered is to design an
organic advisory service for both existing organic producers
and those contemplating a move to organics.
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) in representing key organic organisations and sector groups, has started the design process with this nationwide series of regional meetings. OANZ has a goal of $1 billion in organic sales by 2013 and Government is supporting this with both seed funding for OANZ and the Advisory Service funding.
It is anticipated that with the OANZ Organic Advisory Service design team already at work, the first stage of an Advisory Service should get under way soon after the Government funding is released later in the year.
As well as holding workshops, OANZ is conducting personal interviews. OANZ has already collated and written a status report on much of the existing organic advice sources and available research information.
Frank van
Steensel, Advisory Project Team Leader said that “the team
will be asking for the type of information needed and what
advice methods have worked in the past? What approaches
might work particularly well now? What is required in
particular regions or sectors?”
“For example, the
approach might entail small farmer learning groups with a
facilitator, the internet, one on one interaction with an
experienced farmer advisor, model farms… what will work the
best?”
For those unable to attend the regional
meetings, an online questionnaire is available for
participants to complete at http://www.e-campbell.net/oanz/
There is also a link off most of New Zealand'’s organic
websites with information with workshop dates and venues,
and the questionnaire.
www.organicnz.org,
www.biodynamic.org.nz,www.bio-gro.co.nz,
www.organicfarm.org.nz, www.sustainable.org.nz .
Ends