2026 Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarship. Apply by 17 August 2025. Read More...

Apply for 2026 Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarship by 17 August 2025. More details...

K50

Climate resilience. How might we build resilience with kiwifruit growers in a changing climate?

Executive summary

The kiwifruit industry is New Zealand’s largest horticultural exporter, responsible for 40% of all horticultural revenue (Aitken & Warrington, 2021) and in 2021, celebrated a record-breaking harvest exceeding $4 billion of global revenue (Burke, 2023). The impacts of climate change are being felt in the industry and will continue to have an impact on kiwifruit growing seasons into the future.

The purpose of this report is to collate scientific climate change data, analyse the likely impact this will have on key kiwifruit growing regions and summarise strategies to help kiwifruit growers build climate change resilience.

The aims of this report are to:

  • Outline the likely impacts of climate change for New Zealand.
  • Understand the current impacts of climate change on kiwifruit growers and where the greatest risks are for the future.
  • Provide recommendations that will help build resilience and give growers confidence going forward.

The methodology for this report was based on the three-legged stool model. This included conducting a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and a thematic analysis to discover new knowledge to help build climate change resilience amongst kiwifruit growers.
The four main areas of climate change impact are:

  1. Average temperatures are set to increase.
  2. Minimum temperatures are set to increase.
  3. Average rainfall (precipitation) will be varied across the regions. The upper North Island is likely to become dryer.
  4. Hot days (>25 oC) are likely to become more frequent with impacts posing a moderate risk.

These climate change impacts will have two major impacts on the kiwifruit industry. Firstly, there will be a decrease in winter chill hours, directly affecting the number of flower buds produced. Secondly, there may be a shift in suitable kiwifruit growing regions due to increasing temperatures. Regions that were formerly too cold and presented frost risk, may become more suitable than current regions.

The findings from semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis identified the following recommendations to help growers build climate change resilience:

  1. Growers should work to become financially resilient by building reserves for responding to future climate change events.
  2. Prior to purchasing a new orchard, due diligence should include climate change impacts.
  3. Climate change is not a static problem. Adaptability is an essential attribute for growers to maintain their climate change resilience.
  4. Collaboration will be key in responding to climate change. Growers, postharvest and Zespri all have their part to play.

Transparency of data from postharvest and Zespri is needed to give growers confidence in the longevity of the kiwifruit industry.

Bryce Morrison

Genetic Technologies and the Effect on New Zealand’s Dairy Farmers

Executive summary

New Zealand’s dairy industry is strategically important to New Zealand. Dairy generates $25.7b in exports, or 1 in every 4 dollars which has grown by $7.9b since 2019. It is a cornerstone employer in many regions, with 55,000 employees’ nationally, considerable wage growth, and is a top 10 purchaser across dozens of industries. (Stats NZ – Sense Partners 2023).

Despite dairy farming’s economic importance, New Zealand has strict controls regarding the use and development of genetic technologies that are readily available around the globe, which could further advance the industry.

The aims of this report are to:

  • Outline the potential opportunities for genetic technologies for New Zealand’s Dairy Farmers.
  • Understand the potential risks or threats of genetic technology use in New Zealand.
  • Help to inform dairy farmers on genetic technologies.

The methodology for this report was the joint analysis method. This included conducting a literature review and semi structured interviews to build knowledge on genetic technologies and what implications those could have on the end user – the farmer.

Genetic technology is a broad topic, covering transgenesis or genetic modification, as well as new breeding technologies which is targeted gene editing using site directed nucleases resulting in gene deletion, modification, or gene insertion. Application of these technologies are broad; however, this report serves to focus on plants for animal feed such as grasses, legumes, and brassicas.

The findings from the literature review and semi structured interviews identified the following recommendations that could help farmers improve across the board, including increased output and productivity, improved environmental outcomes, animal wellbeing and financial benefits.

  • New Zealand needs a science based, consistent approach to regulating genetic technologies. This will need to evolve as the science develops and evolves.
  • Risks need to be balanced against benefits and ensure adequate testing is undertaken before commercial use. This should include flow on effects and animal health monitoring for plant breeding.
  • The right plant breeding programs need to be prioritised first.
  • Incremental gains are powerful in the long run, but New Zealand needs to adopt genetic technologies now.

Due to the economic value of the dairy industry, if farmers prosper there can be an expectation that regional economies will be positively affected, median wages for dairy workers will rise, and local input purchasing will rise with this.

Scott Armer

Commercialisation learnings for Agritech

Executive summary

There is a growing global demand for agritech to solve major global issues, such as climate change, water use and quality, and increased yields from food and fibre to feed the world’s population.

Whilst New Zealand has a proud history of primary sector innovation, there are only a handful of agritech companies of international significance. The 2020 Aotearoa Agritech Unleashed Report opined; “Compared to our international peers we are punching below our weight in our relative economic value and export earnings from agritech”.

What can New Zealand agritech companies do better to commercialise their innovations to grow the sector, but ultimately to help solve these global challenges and in the process advance New Zealand’s international competitiveness in primary production and grow our export earnings.

This report has undertaken to seek learnings and insights of what successful commercialisation of innovation looks like and apply this to a New Zealand agritech context to present key denominators for successful commercialisation of agritech.

The study completed literature reviews of academic, industry and business publications across innovation and agritech, together with semi-structured interviews with New Zealand agritech practitioners.

Thematic Analysis was applied to the body of research and interviews to capture the Key Findings and related Recommendations as follows:

1. Engage in Critical Self-Assessment:

Critically evaluating whether the agritech founder has a minimum viable product with initial customers to get to the start line. To be commercially successful at scale requires ongoing discipline for critical self-assessment of:

  • Total addressable market; develop a clear understanding at the outset of the addressable market, validating the innovation to that addressable market, what investment is required and the profit model.
  • Founders’ skills, traits and shortcomings; actively build a team with complementary skills and capabilities requiring the right industry and functional expertise (technical, operational, commercial and financial) with an ability to execute.

2. Value Proposition:

Develop and define a clear and (relatively) material value proposition for the adopters of the innovative solution. The Founders need to be focused on delivering a client solution (not an innovation).

3. Business Model:

Bring together the component parts to execute the commercialisation growth, including:

  • Product and market lifecycle; recognise and plan for the innovation to evolve from the initial core product and early adopter market to an augmented solution delivered and serviced for a mainstream market which requires active planning for channel to market, wrap-around solution, communication strategies and services model.
  • Resources; The resources required to execute, not just the team and governance, but broader relationships, suppliers, channel partners, components, facilities etc.
  • Profit Model & Capital structure; continually evaluate the commercial model and align with a fit for purpose capital structure. If external capital is required to support the company to break-even, then ensure that “smart” capital is pursued with the right industry experience and networks for execution.

The approach and recommendations have been brought together into a Framework of Key Denominators to Enhance Successful Commercialisation of Agritech (show in Figure 11 of the report).

The key themes, or denominators are all inter-related, they cannot be approached or applied in isolation. The framework is not a one-size-fits-all but a valuable roadmap to be evaluated and adapted for each unique agritech innovation and market opportunity.

Murray Dyer