'Proposal To Allow Commercial Vegetable Growing Without Consent Means The Industry Has A Future'

Vegetables NZ is applauding the Government for supporting industry standards that protect the environment by proposing to allow commercial vegetable growers to grow food without having to strive for unworkable resource consents.

"This proposal is a major step forward for New Zealand’s food security and the health of kiwis," says Vegetables NZ Chair, John Murphy.

"Without it, the heart of New Zealand’s vegetable growing community was under threat.

"Taking a national approach to vegetable production and ensuring vegetable growing is a permitted activity is essential for vegetable growing to be viable and for us to feed New Zealand.

"It is great that this Government has listened and is taking steps to ensure kiwis have access to fresh, healthy food like vegetables, now and in the future. The country will be better off in terms of health as well as economic outcomes.

"Today’s announcement gives the commercial vegetable industry the hope it sorely needs."

John says Vegetables NZ supports the Government’s move to explore a more targeted approach to Highly Productive Land.

"Highly Productive Land is a synergy of soil quality, flat contour, amenable climate, access to water, proximity to markets, workforce availability, and practical attainable consent to farm. Losing any of these factors critically inhibits the land’s productivity.

"The current National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land protects first class soils. However, in practice – where parcels of land connect to urban areas – the land can become unproductive, due to poor planning and cross boundary effects.

"We want to see the Government protecting food supply by taking an integrated approach that safeguards the factors that go to ensure the land is highly productive. However, if a factor or combination of factors means the land is not highly productive, the owner’s property rights must be protected."

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