Kiwifruit Industry Partners With Government on Five-Year Program: More Value From Less; Jason Te Brake Comments

NEW ZEALAND - The New Zealand kiwifruit industry has welcomed Government co-investment in a new five-year program to help growers produce higher yields of premium fruit, with less water, fewer nutrients, and reduced environmental impact.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. (NZKGI) and Zespri will deliver Optimizing Kiwifruit Land Use - More from Less, with the project co-funded through the Government’s Primary Sector Growth Fund, contributing $19.14 million. The kiwifruit industry and Zespri will contribute a further $28.73 million combined cash and in-kind investment.

The program will operate across all New Zealand kiwifruit growing regions and varieties to grow more value from existing orchards with on-orchard innovation, advanced decision-support tools, and applied science.

Optimizing Kiwifruit Land Use - More from Less has three workstreams:

1. More orchard productivity - research and implementation to improve fruit quality and budbreak, enhance vine management and production techniques, develop alternative pest and disease controls, and improve decision-support tools.
2. More efficient use of resources - using irrigation modeling and decision-support tools to deliver exactly the water and nutrients each vine needs.
3. Less environmental impact - exploring carbon sequestration/removals, including biochar and other tools that support the program’s broader environmental outcomes.

NZKGI CEO Colin Bond says NZKGI is supportive of initiatives that help food and fiber producers lift productivity and returns and maximize efficient use of scarce resources.

Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake says the kiwifruit industry is pleased to work alongside the Government on Optimizing Kiwifruit Land Use - More from Less.

“New Zealand sells high-quality, great-tasting Zespri Kiwifruit in more than 50 markets around the world each year, and we continue to see strong demand from customers and consumers for our fruit. We expect to more than double our exports over the next 10 years through releasing new cultivars, developing more orchards, and, importantly, maximizing productivity on existing orchards, and doing this in a way that is good for people, communities, and the environment.

“This program will support growers to improve their orchard performance and production, while strengthening the value of our kiwifruit exports to meet the strong market demand for our premium products. Our industry has a strong history of being forward-looking, innovative, and collaborative, and co-investment of this kind helps bring innovation to growers much faster than we could on our own.

“We’ve got a really strong opportunity in New Zealand - with land capable of producing some of the best kiwifruit yields in the world. However, we’re also working within some real constraints. There’s only so much suitable land in the right climates, with production sitting alongside increasing environmental expectations and climate variability.

“Kiwifruit has a relatively low environmental impact, and we’re committed to always looking at ways we can do better. The opportunity for us is in getting more from the orchards growing now through more precise growing practices, better decision-making tools, and continuing to bring new science into our orchards to improve production, as well as delivering new varieties that grow at higher yields in a wider variety of locations.

“Kiwifruit already delivers significant value back to New Zealand’s regions and rural communities each season - $3.6b in direct grower returns last season - and this program will build on that, supporting further value back to growers, shareholders and the wider economy.”

The program will be overseen by an independently chaired Project Governance Group, with representation from MPI, NZKGI, and Zespri.