The response of the kiwifruit industry to the freshwater challenge
In New Zealand, there is a focus on freshwater quality due to serious deterioration of waterways. This has led to primary sectors taking significant action to mitigate their impacts as well as government regulation. The AgriBusiness Group has been working closely within the kiwifruit sector for many years on various sustainability projects, including nutrient management. In this article, we look at how New Zealand’s most valuable horticultural sector is responding to the freshwater challenge and what the upcoming proposed government regulations mean for it.
A collaborative approach
The kiwifruit industry recognises the importance of protecting NZ’s freshwater resources and has come together in a collaborative way to develop an industry strategy on freshwater, bringing together growers, NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc (NZKGI), Zespri, Maori Kiwifruit Growers Inc (MKGF), Horticulture NZ and consultants. Collectively, the industry is committed to working together to protect and enhance its water resources in a way that allows the industry to continue to grow and prosper. The kiwifruit industry has a successful track record of working collaboratively to respond to major challenges and the current development is another example of that.
To inform and deliver on the water strategy, working groups with a diverse range of stakeholders have been established, and are supported by a leadership group. Jayson Benge from The AgriBusiness Group is on two of these groups and brings 15 years of experience in sustainability assessment and reporting in the kiwifruit industry.
Building understanding through Research & Development
Three years ago, driven by a desire to improve the sustainability of kiwifruit production and to support regional council planning, Zespri, with the support of NZKGI and the regional council, embarked on a long-term study with Plant & Food Research to measure nitrogen, water balance and losses on kiwifruit orchards. Drainage fluxmeters were installed on six kiwifruit orchards across the Bay of Plenty and these are now providing valuable insights into the amount of water and nitrogen moving down through the soil profile in orchards. Importantly, the measurements from this research are used to calibrate and improve models that can be used to determine nutrient balances and losses. Effective modelling is important because currently, it’s not practical and prohibitively expensive to measure nutrient losses at an individual property level.
More recently, a Zespri project has begun which aims to understand the impacts of lowering the amount of nitrogen applied on nitrogen balances and losses and also on the productivity of orchards. Other projects like this are also planned to improve the industry’s understanding of its impacts on freshwater and also to identify mitigation options.
One of the positive outcomes that have emerged from the research is the collaborative relationship with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC). The Council has been very supportive of the study to the extent that they have provided co-funding, a reflection of their desire to understand land-use impacts as much as they can to inform policy and regulation better. A recent tangible outcome of the research for the Council has been an improvement in their modelling of nutrient losses from kiwifruit orchards (which they have undertaken using the APSIM model, calibrated with data from the fluxmeter project).
Recently, Jayson as part of a research project for Zespri, has interviewed nutrient advisors in the kiwifruit industry to provide an up-to-date understanding of nutrient management practices. A positive and common finding was that advisors are very open about what they recommend and their basis for the advice. Importantly, they are mindful of the environmental concerns and risks associated with fertiliser use and would welcome any new knowledge that will help them to make recommendations that reduce environmental impacts without compromising production goals. The research supported by Zespri is, therefore, essential to gain these highly requested findings, and then extending the learnings from such research out to the industry will be necessary.
What does the freshwater proposal mean for kiwifruit?
The kiwifruit industry is well-positioned to respond to upcoming regulations.
The government’s recently proposed freshwater regulations will have an impact on the kiwifruit industry, although the full extent of this is still to be determined. The proposal as currently worded would mean that regulation only applies to some growers and not others. For example, only those who have orchards greater than 5ha would be required to provide a freshwater module of a farm plan (FWM) i.e. a risk assessment and action plan to manage the impact of production on freshwater quality. The proposal would leave out about a thousand farms that wouldn’t need an FWM and at least the same amount that would. The exemption is something the industry as a whole is not supportive of as the view is that the rules should be applied across all growers. The impact on growers will also depend on where they are located. In 'at risk catchments', where freshwater quality is more degraded, growers will be required to deliver FWMs by 2022 and orchards outside 'at-risk catchments' by 2025. The 2022 timeframe will impact only a relatively small number of kiwifruit orchards as none of the priority areas are currently in the Bay of Plenty where most kiwifruit is grown. So, this at least provides some breathing space for the industry and an opportunity to learn from what is happening in the priority catchments.
Farm Environment Plans (FEPs) have been a reality for several years in regions like Canterbury. However, it is not clear whether these will become mandatory in other places. The proposal invites feedback on whether FEPs should be mandatory. The industry is supportive of FEPs in principle. In practice however, it would like to see audited industry schemes like GAP be an acceptable equivalent given these already have a focus on protecting water quality. We have heard that NGO’s are resistant to industry schemes so it will be interesting to see where this lands.
Regardless of the final freshwater proposals, there is going to be an increased need for the industry to demonstrate best practice concerning nutrient management and water use to satisfy not only regulatory requirements but also the demand of customers who want to understand the impacts of food supply chains on people and the environment. Whether this will be done through using existing industry schemes (GAP) remains to be seen. Whatever the outcome, increased resourcing is going to be required to meet the objectives of the proposed regulation.
In recent years, the kiwifruit industry has collectively done a lot of work to understand its impact on freshwater, to develop a strategy, and to inform government policy. This, along with the strong integrated nature of the industry, means it is well-positioned to respond to upcoming regulations.
