Events and awards sponsored by MPI
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) sponsors a range of community events, conferences, and awards.
Select an event or award for more details
16 October 2020, Wellington.
The Ministry for Primary Industries sponsored the 2020 Rongo Award for Excellence in Agricultural Journalism. The Rongo Award is the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators’ supreme award, which recognizes excellence in agricultural journalism.
As well as this, the Ko Tātou This Is Us biosecurity engagement programme sponsored the Ko Tātou This Is Us Biosecurity Journalism Award.
The awards were presented in Wellington on 16 October.
Find out who won – NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators
Entries for the 2021 Ahuwhenua Trophy Dairy Competition are now open.
In 2021 the Ahuwhenua Trophy will focus on dairy. Entries are now open, and will close on 27 November 2020.
MPI is proud to support the Ahuwhenua Trophy. The awards acknowledge and celebrate Māori excellence in farming and the significant role Māori play in New Zealand's primary industries.
The competition is held annually, with the focus of each year's competition changing between horticulture, dairy, and sheep and beef.
Find out more
4 November 2020, Auckland.
New Zealand Food Safety (a business unit of MPI) is a sponsor of the 2020 New Zealand Ice Cream Awards. Now in its 23rd year, the awards are hosted by the New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers Association. Entries close on 9 September, and award winners will be announced on 4 November.
Find out more
The winner will be announced in November.
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O'Connor have announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy. The 3 finalists are:
- Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui
- Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga
- Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua Trust from Te Kaha.
MPI is proud to support the Ahuwhenua Trophy. The awards acknowledge and celebrate Māori excellence in farming and the significant role Māori play in New Zealand's primary industries.
The competition is held annually, with the focus of each year's competition changing between horticulture, dairy, and sheep and beef. This year's awards dinner will be held in Rotorua in November.
Find out more
Now cancelled.
Te Uru Rākau (a business unit of MPI) was going to be a sponsor of the 2020 Southern Wood Council Forestry Awards. The awards celebrate training and business success in the lower South Island’s forestry industry. Nine major awards were to be presented, along with national training certificates.
Find out more
Now cancelled.
New Zealand Food Safety (a business unit of MPI) was going to be a sponsor of the 20th World Congress of Food Science and Technology. The congress was to be held by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) in collaboration with the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST).
This biennial world congress is the peak global meeting for food science and technology, and typically has around 1,500 delegates from across the globe. IUFoST attracts food scientists, food technologists, new product development innovators, engineers, academic researchers, regulatory advisors and food safety experts from industry, academia and government.
This event has been cancelled. The next IUFoST World Congress will be held in 2022 in Singapore.
Find out more
18 June 2020, Bay of Islands.
Richard and Nadine McCullough of Karapiro in Waikato won the Supreme Dairy Business award for 2020.
The Ministry for Primary Industries is pleased to be a gold partner of the 2020 Dairy Business of the Year competition. This annual competition provides farmers with the opportunity to undertake a high-level analysis of the performance indicators that drive their business's profitability, resilience, and sustainability, and benchmark themselves against other farmers. As well as the opportunity to win prizes, they can network with other leading dairy farmers.
Find out more
National Māori Engagement Programme.
MPI is a proud sponsor of Whenua Ora - National Māori Engagement Programme, a national programme to support and encourage young Māori to enter the primary industries.
The programme was developed by Whenua Kura – a trust that aims to grow the next generation of Māori leaders in the primary sector. Whenua Kura works with iwi, tertiary education providers, employers and government agencies to support Māori through education and career development. MPI sponsorship allows the programme to extend to more regions and to focus on primary industries that are relevant to each region.
Who to contact
If you have questions about MPI sponsorships, email info@mpi.govt.nz
Looking for events and awards run by MPI?
MPI often runs its own seminars and events related to the primary industries. We also support scholarships and awards. Details of these are on other web pages.