Taranaki branches out into horticulture

Traditionally known as a dairying region, a recent assessment of Taranaki’s land and climate has identified 270,000 hectares of land suitable for horticulture. ELAINE FISHER reports.

Research into the land’s horticultural viability is part of the Branching Out project blueprints commissioned and published by regional development agency, Venture Taranaki, which promotes nine new food and fibre investment opportunities for the district. The investment blueprints encompass innovation and growth, market potential and a path for the region to leverage its untapped food and fibre potential. 

Taranaki local, Matthew Hareb, has chosen to diversify his business venture by developing an avocado orchard

The blueprints focus on nine opportunities: kiwifruit and avocados – to diversify the region’s existing food and fibre industries – gin botanicals, grains, legumes and vegetables, hemp fibre for construction, hops, medicinal plants, sheep dairy and trees (including their value chains).

Launched in July, the blueprints contain details about sector opportunities and drivers of growth, required growing conditions, crop management, value chain development, financial assessments, and potential impact for the region – economically, socially, and environmentally.

Taranaki has been identified as an emerging growing region, with rich volcanic soil, good water availability, a temperate climate and the most sunshine hours in the country. The region is well suited for the establishment of horticulture and is attracting keen investment interest, says project lead, Michelle Bauer.

To date, 27-ha of new kiwifruit plantings are already under development and the region is seen by the industry as having potential for future growth, particularly as traditional production areas are predicted to shift due to temperature changes.

The avocado industry has shown particular interest in the region, with new orchards under development.

“We have more than 50 growers who have expressed interest in supporting pilot trial activities across a range of ventures,” says Michelle.

The nine blueprints are the culmination of extensive research, analysis and insights provided by sector stakeholders, partners, support services and academic institutions.

Among those who assisted with identifying the opportunities are kiwifruit marketer Zespri, Plant & Food Research Limited, specialist service providers, Bay of Plenty post-harvest operators including Trevelyan’s and Apata, and national and regional nurseries.

Michelle says while regions promoting diversification is not unusual, what is unique about the Branching Out project is that it takes the value chain perspective and provides potential investors with an overview of key decision considerations – from commercial establishment, supply and value chains, potential returns, to everything in between.
The nine opportunities the project focuses on were narrowed down from a long list of 96 suggestions.

“We decided to progress the opportunities with high-growth and strong market potential, alongside opportunities where skills, capabilities and infrastructure existed in-region already that could be applied to an adjacent industry,” Michelle says. “Among those taking up the challenge is Matthew Hareb who is developing an avocado orchard.”

“I’m Taranaki born and bred and for the last 15 years I’ve run an earth-moving contracting business in the oil and gas industry,” Matthew says. “I am now looking to diversify and see avocados as the next chapter in the book.”

Commercial plantings of Zespri Green kiwifruit have been established near Waitotara in South Taranaki and the blueprint document states there is potential for more kiwifruit development in the region.

“The region is well positioned to capitalise on this development, transferring skills and knowledge to the industry and building on the existing leadership in food and product development,” the documents states. “Prices for land suitable for kiwifruit development in Taranaki are low compared to land in established kiwifruit growing regions.

“Zespri is encouraging regional diversification to meet demand and spread risks from climatic events and pest or disease outbreaks.

“There is growing demand for value-added products that can be produced from kiwifruit, and kiwifruit orcharding is seen as a viable complement to dairy.”

Michelle says of the nine opportunities identified by the Branching Out blueprint, kiwifruit, avocado and sheep dairy are likely to be the first to launch.

“All the ventures have significant market potential,” Michelle says. “In some cases, the path to market is clear, for example, with kiwifruit, avocados, or sheep dairy; so these would be considered closer to launch – particularly as there are currently plants in the ground, or sheep milk being sent to the dryer.

“In other cases, the path to market will need to be established such as for gin botanicals or medicinal plants. But in all cases, it is clear that a market does exist and future trends and consumer preferences support this.”

Michelle says among those who may decide to diversify their land use could be dairy farmers who have parts of their property suitable for              horticulture.

“We are also looking for significant scale in new diversification activities, but are aware of people with smaller blocks of land between 10 and 40-ha actively looking for horticultural opportunities.”

Carefully managed land use and land diversification could have positive environmental and social impacts, Michelle says.

“We have a key piece of research around how to measure the environmental, social and cultural outcomes as industries scale up under way,” she says. “We are hoping all those involved in new ventures will take a sustainable approach.”  

When the blueprints were launched in July the website traffic to the Branching Out page saw a 154 percent increase compared with the previous month, and over 1000 unique visits. 

“In addition to the enquiries that we are receiving directly, we can see from our website analytics, that hemp fibre for construction was the most visited page followed by medicinal plants, gin botanicals, avocados and sheep dairy,” Michelle says.

Venture Taranaki has called for landowners to add their details to the land use register, and registrations have increased since the blueprints launch. Michelle believes this is due to the interest in the opportunities presented.

“As we look towards the second phase of the project, there are opportunities to get involved in pilot activities and new product development – so we would encourage those interested to register their information,” she says.

The blueprints serve to build investor confidence and act as an informative roadmap for complementary land-based activities and associated value chain enterprises in Taranaki.

“The investor-ready blueprints are to be used by community including landowners, farmers, food manufacturers, growers and investors to give them all the information they need to get started,” Michelle says. “We are encouraging these groups to review the opportunities presented by visiting the Venture Taranaki website, downloading the blueprints and joining our land use registry so that we can connect them to others and share information on the ventures that are of interest.”

“Our councils are supportive of the Branching Out project and as ventures progress, we will continue to work closely together,” Michelle says.

Branching Out is managed by Venture Taranaki and a steering group of the food and fibre sector participants. The two-year initiative is funded by the three district councils in Taranaki and the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, with significant in-kind support from Venture Taranaki, Massey University, Crown Research Institutes, and primary sector/food and fibre industry enterprises.

Branching Out supports the region’s strategy and long-term vision for a resilient, high-value and low-emissions future. Its vision is articulated by ‘Tapuae Roa’ and ‘Taranaki 2050’ – the guiding strategic documents for the Taranaki region that were co-created with the people of Taranaki.

For more information visit:  https://www.venture.org.nz/projects/branching-out/