The Morven Glenavy Ikawai Irrigation Scheme (MGI) supplies water for irrigation to 24,000 ha of land on the north bank of the Waitaki River. Environmental responsibility is a fundamental part of MGI’s business. The AgriBusiness Group is the co-developer of the “Environmental Farm Plan for Irrigated Land Use” template and co-facilitator of its subsequent implementation by all scheme farmers, to help deliver good on farm irrigation practice and efficiency and achieve high standards of environmental management.
THE PROJECT
The AgriBusiness Group co-developed the MGI Environmental Management Strategy and Farm Environment Plan template with Mulgor Consulting Ltd in 2010. The Environmental Management Strategy requires that all MGI irrigators must have a Farm Environment Plan to show how they are actively managing their property to achieve high standards of environmental performance. The AgriBusiness Group and Mulgor Consulting Ltd facilitated a workshop process to help farmers write their own Farm Environment Plans.
The Farm Environment Plan sets out the objectives and targets for environmental performance in management areas that are important for sustainable irrigated land use: Irrigation and water; Soils; Nutrients and point source; Collected animal effluent; Waterways; and Biodiversity and mahinga kai. Each property decides on suitable on-farm methods to achieve the objectives.
The AgriBusiness Group utilise their farm systems knowledge to provide regular independent Farm Environment Plan auditing to assess whether the objectives are being met on each farm. Audit results are reported back to individual farmers and the MGI Board.