MPI gave Omapere Rangihamama Trust (ORT) $700,000 so they could get good professional advice and employ project managers, MPI’s deputy director-general Ben Dalton said.
“It’s hoped this model will act as an exemplar for increased productivity on surrounding land blocks,” he said.
“We are not doing this farm by farm but Rangihamama is in the middle of one of the most economically deprived areas that has really good farmland.”
MPI wanted to increase the amount of Maori land used for farming so it was working with multiple Maori land groups to merge small land blocks into big farms held under trusts.
A 2011 report by MPI and Te Puni Kokiri estimated 1.5 million hectares of land was owned collectively or individually by Maori, yet 80% of the freehold portion was underperforming, under-utilised and not even close to reaching the land’s productivity potential.
MPI was not just interested in helping Maori landowners create dairy farms.
“The whole spectrum of agriculture; sheep and beef, honey, you name it; whatever is the optimum use of that land,” he said.
“The key is that the owners need to want to do this; we are not trying to sell anything to them.”
There had been challenges throughout the project.
He said Maori have two big fears; losing land and debt.
Maori landowners could retain ownership of the land but merge blocks together in trusts which resolved the first issue.
Dalton said the groups needed to “get over” their fear of debt.
“As long as your income is high and your production costs are viable then debt is fine,” he said.
ORT aims to boost milksolids (MS) production from a budgeted 180,000kg MS in year one to about 230,000kg MS in year three of the development.
ORT has been transforming the 278ha into a dairy farm for two years.
