I’m concerned about these growing tensions between opposites and see little being done about it.
Government agencies, farming group entities and industry bodies are simply not active enough in showcasing what is essentially the backbone of our economy.
The primary sector in New Zealand delivers 10% of the country’s total GDP of $224 billion, employs 16% of the workforce and far outstrips every other industry in terms of productivity gains, yet it’s invariably on the back foot on most issues in its communications with the wider public.
This situation was capped recently by TVNZ’s Sunday special, The Price of Milk, which depicted the dairy sector through the eyes of a city journalist.
Two case studies examined extreme ends of the bell curve and a tabloid-style story was construed that was topped with a home-kill slaughter in the presence of a five-year-old.
So, the question is clear ‑ which farming champion should be charged with delivering a more balanced story?
The Ministry for Primary Industries has a mandate to “grow and protect” yet of all its 40 media releases since Christmas only six have focused on positive developments. The rest have been about policing, border security, protection and regulation.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy’s media releases are also pedestrian at best with little substance, lacking a big-picture story and context.
Right across the agribusiness sector it seems we beat ourselves up on detail while those outside the farmgate have a “field day”.
My observation is that every primary-sector entity has a well-crafted vision and purpose but they all seem to stumble when constructing coherent stories to promote their particular industry’s prospects.
The good thing is we aren’t myopic land users under the traditions of old Europe. Our farmers have been incredibly quick to adapt, though the accepted image of the typical NZ farmer does little to suggest this.
Mr and Mrs Kiwi Farmer are depicted as simple folk, personifying the whole industry as unsophisticated, which it’s anything but. This, of course, is gleefully reinforced by the latte-loving city journalist looking for a “dumb boot” story.
Federated Farmers, despite their efforts to appeal to a younger audience have failed to do so, with the average membership age now at about 60 years. The need to renew the Fed’s purpose with tangible actions is long overdue.
Throughout Auckland’s five tertiary institutes in 2015 there were 56,000 enrolments in degree-level courses. Not one involved primary industries. The rural sector is simply not doing enough to attract young people into primary industries and from my viewpoint most efforts are still minor, seriously underfunded token events.
If we’re to achieve primary sector targets that people talk about we must provide more than just statements and goals set by futurists. Each sector participant needs to be able to assess their own relevant contribution to the value-add story, and understand how to contend with a global market that wants to buy their point-of-difference product.
Be it grass-fed beef or treated radiata pine, the list of value-add potential is enormous, yet there is no overall story tapestry and individual context with which to place each contribution. People who participate need to see a future for themselves and their endeavour, whatever it is.
To me, virtually all current primary sector communication is tactical and committed to process improvement. Very little has been focused on achieving a mind-set change to secure a positive future that we’re assured by the rest of the world is possible.
We have a vote of confidence in our rural sector from across the globe, but we are long overdue as a country for a concerted, collaborative effort to capitalise on this from a communications perspective. This overall story will help a great deal for farmers and townsfolk to better understand the reforms necessary to gain from these opportunities. Why should I fence off the river? Why should I observe spray protocols in my orchard? Without context, compliance is often regarded as an irksome bureaucratic imposition.
We have failed miserably to convert these improved practices into product opportunities, positioning and branding primary sector outputs at higher price points, which I believe is possible. Entering virgin markets such as China with new product value-chain stories is about collaborative commitment.
I see no reason why government agencies can’t work together to create an overall land-based story of economic endeavour, across all relevant ministries including the Department of Conservation. Why isn’t the creation of an overall story of land-based economic endeavour and protection possible? Tourism has achieved this well and I see that industry as a continuation of the New Zealand Story.
All land-based entities perform well in communicating what they do but fail as storytellers to impart the why.
We are a major primary industry with no single voice, struggling to be heard and it seems too hoarse to talk.
-Brand strategist Brian Richards has spent the past 30 years advising leading companies in NZ, Australia, Asia and Europe. Along with wife Brigitte and farm manager Richard Morris, he also runs a significant deer and cattle operation at Kaipara Harbour.
