New project to focus on boosting productivity

The pūtea came from the Whenua Māori Fund, which supports Māori landowners to explore different uses for their land and investigate ways of boosting its productivity. It also assists with developing applications for further funding from other bodies.

“The kaupapa behind the fund is to help Māori landowners identify and assess opportunities for their whenua,” says Andrew Beijeman, Ātihau-Whanganui Inc CEO. “We wanted to do a couple of things which fitted into the requirements of the fund, hence our application. We intend to complete an assessment of all the farmland across the whenua, analysing what its potential productivity is and determining what needs to happen for it to reach that potential.”

“For some of our low productive land, the research will also investigate what other potential activities it could be used for that may give us better results in terms of return on investment.”

“It is quite an exciting undertaking, and we are looking forward to seeing what new pathways may open up to us when the analysis is completed.”

This work represents one part of the project. The second element has more of an environmental focus and aims to establish indicators to accurately measure and monitor the impact any land use is having on the whenua and awa.

“It’s important to ensure any further productivity increases don’t come at the expense of the environment,” says Andrew. “This part of the project will look at what environmental indicators best serve the business and then establish a baseline of data, so we can see where we stand in this area.”

“Once that is in place we can develop monitoring protocols which will allow us to see where we may need to take action.”

“The responsibility of being the kaitiaki of our land for our tamariki and mokopuna is one we take very seriously and this phase of the project will really help us get an accurate picture of what is happening on our farms, and in the waterways.”

The third phase of the project will ask the question, what else could be done with the whenua outside the current scope. This project is a very high-level scan at this stage and will bring to the surface a number of ideas that could be explored further.

“While we do have a strategic objective to increase the productivity of our whenua-based business activities, it is important that any changes in land use are the right ones,” explains Andrew. “We need to ensure that they follow our Māori kaupapa in intent and execution, along with our core strategies.

“Once we have identified a list of opportunities, we will then decide which ones to explore further, and in more detail.”

The project is a large undertaking and is expected to take the next eight months to complete. The support from TPK will also help identify other funding that the Incorporation may be eligible for, such as the Regional Growth Fund.

“Work like this is not just a standalone project,” says Andrew, “It’s all part of the journey we are on to always do better, to provide more, while taking better care of our whenua.”

“Recent world events have showed us that we can never be complacent about our place in the world; the markets we rely on and that success will just fall into our laps.”

“This work will help us forge a positive future for the organisation and our shareholders.”