$9.9m in funding for new sustainable farming projects   14 Apr 2014

Hon Nathan Guy
Minister for Primary Industries

14 April 2014 Media Statement

$9.9m in funding for new sustainable farming projects

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed the latest round of projects receiving funding from the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), covering a range of issues from water quality to climate change.

“There are 31 approved projects in this round, with $9.9m in funding over three years coming from the Government and $8.7m from the project’s co-funders.

“The one common factor is they will deliver real economic and environmental benefits to New Zealand's primary industries. They are driven from the grassroots and will make a real difference to regional communities.

“For example a project addressing water quality issues in the Opihi catchment aims to increase profitability and productivity while reducing the environmental impacts on catchment farms.

“The project will do this by working with dairy, sheep, beef, cropping and deer farmers to ensure they understand water quality issues and realistic land management solutions to improve the quality of the surface and ground water in the Opihi catchment.

“Another relevant project for farming communities needing to adapt to climate change is from the East Coast Beef + Lamb Farmer Council. The project builds on previous work, funded through SFF, looking into a range of new forages for dryland farmers, such as lucerne, plantain and annual clovers.”

The SFF has now received $122.8 million in Government funding across 906 projects.

The 2015/16 funding round will be launched July 2014.

A full list of successful projects is available at http://www.mpi.govt.nz/agriculture/funding-programmes/sustainable-farming-fund.aspx.

Further information

The SFF was established in 2000 and has an annual appropriation of $8 million available on a contestable basis. SFF funding for each project is complemented by at least 20% cash and/or in-kind support by industry, community groups and individuals.

Applications for the 2014/15 SFF round closed 18 November 2013, with 84 applications being received. Applicants requested a total of $21.4m (GST exclusive) over three years. This compares with 78 applications requesting $15.1m in the previous 2013/14 funding round.

An independent assessment panel consisting of experienced practitioners and technical experts across the primary sector recommend applications for funding to the Deputy-Director General, Resource Management Programmes.

The 31 approved projects are from the following sectors:

• Dairy (9 projects valued at $2.852m)
• Sheep and beef (6 projects valued at $2.306m)
• Arable (6 projects valued at $1.593m)
• Horticulture (2 projects valued at $0.971m)
• Forestry (1 project valued at $0.023m)
• Apiary (2 projects valued at $0.936m)
• Aquaculture (2 projects valued at $0.530m)
• Viticulture (1 project valued at $0.287m)
• Other (2 projects valued at $0.379m)

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