Innovating for a sustainable future

Project start: 14 November 2020
Project length: 2 years
MPI funding: $104,500
Industry funding: $26,000
Industry partners: BioTech NZ
Region: Nationwide

BIOTechNZ is leading a comprehensive study into the current state and future opportunity for biotechnology.

Growers Leading Change

Project start: 6 October 2020
Project length: 3 years
MPI funding: $1,169,000
Industry funding: $1,315,000
Industry partner: Foundation for Arable Research
Region: Nationwide

Growers Leading Change will develop an extension framework for the arable industry. This will include setting up a network of facilitated farm discussion groups, trial and demonstration farms, and a mobile learning centre. It will enable arable growers to work with and learn from each other.

Feasibility of growing hi oleic peanuts in Northland

Project start: 21 September 2020
Project length: 1 year
MPI funding: $59,535
Industry funding: $31,785
Industry partners: Picot Productions, Plant & Food Research
Region: Northland

Pic’s Peanut Butter is investigating the feasibility of growing peanuts commercially in Northland. The trials will be conducted in three locations – Ruawai on a kumara farm, Poutu Peninsular near Dargaville, and on Māori land in the Kai Iwi Lakes district.

Daffodil Galanthamine project

Project start: 15 August 2020
Project length: 2 years
MPI funding: $87,000
Industry funding: $87,000
Industry partners: Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Lincoln University
Region: Canterbury

This project is trialling growing a variety of daffodil that produces the active pharmaceutical ingredient galanthamine. Galanthamine has been approved in several countries for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's. Lincoln University will extract galanthamine from the harvested daffodils and report on the results.

Could x-ray technology be used as a phytosanitary treatment in New Zealand?

Project start: 28 April 2020
Project length: 1 year
MPI funding: $96,832
Industry funding: $121,168
Industry partner: Apples and Pears
Region: Nationwide

The horticulture industry is investigating the potential of using x-ray technology to improve plant health, for instance as an alternative to chemical and fumigation treatments that are potentially toxic. This project will identify the barriers to establishing this technology in New Zealand and determine if it’s feasible to overcome them.

A Lighter Touch

Project start: 1 April 2020
Project length: 7 years
MPI funding: $10,829,339
Industry funding: $16,243,877
Industry partner: Horticulture New Zealand, with affiliated programme participants
Region: Nationwide

‘A Lighter Touch’ brings the horticulture, wine, and arable sectors together to find ways to meet consumer demands for food produced through more sustainable pest management practices. It seeks to shift the focus away from traditional crop protection, and integrate biological and ecological processes into food production in New Zealand.

Taking stock: Resolving NZ’s cultivated plants problem  

Project start: 1 February 2020
Project length: 3 years  
MPI funding: $420,000  
Industry funding: $471,500  
Industry partner: Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture Inc, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research  
Region: Nationwide

This project is supporting the development of two plant databases that aim to improve approaches to importing and regulating plants; as well as plant breeding, production, biosecurity and plant pest management.  

Phosphine treatment of avocados  

Project start: 25 November 2019
Project length: 1 year  
MPI funding: $40,000  
Industry funding: $60,000  
Industry partner: New Zealand Avocado  
Region: Nationwide

New Zealand Avocado will test the ability of avocados to undergo phosphine treatment at rates, times and temperatures that maintain fruit quality while reducing the presence of common quarantine pests. This will help determine whether phosphine can be considered an acceptable treatment for export avocados.   

Meeting the demand for NZ extra virgin olive oil

Project start: 21 September 2019
Project length: 3 years
MPI funding: $43,520
Industry funding: $65,280
Industry partner: Olives New Zealand
Region: Nationwide

Building on a previous MPI-funded project, this project aims to further increase the production of established olive groves in New Zealand. It aims to increase yield per tree to an extra 5kg (20%), and to move growers to more organic sprays.

Food safety to meet challenging markets

Project start: 27 August 2019
Project length: 3 years
MPI funding: $596,854
Industry funding: $419,090
Industry partner: New Zealand Apples and Pears Inc
Region: Nationwide

This project is investigating new procedures and will develop best practice guidelines to manage the risk of food borne pathogens on apples and pears. It aims to ensure New Zealand apple and pear production and fruit handling systems continue to meet the requirements of export markets.

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