IT’S hard not to have a bit of sympathy for politicians in these very uncertain times.
What a massive call for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Cabinet to make on when to step down to covid-19 level three.
It seemed like half of New Zealand was thinking along the lines of a sporting analogy. When you get to half-time and you’re ahead on the scoreboard it’s dangerous to let complacency set in lest your opposition make a comeback. The thinking was that to be safe we needed to stay in level four lockdown a few more weeks to really make sure the virus was down and out.
But the other half of the population seemed ready to give businesses a break and start to get spending and the economy ticking over again while still practising a degree of social isolation.
From a health perspective probably the right call was made, not that many will remember that if it all turns to custard and there’s a big surge in in coronavirus cases.
At level four farmers across the nation have been able to get on with their essential work though they certainly haven’t been immune to the covid-19 impacts on their livelihoods because some partners lost off-farm employment.
There is now evidence fellow Kiwis really appreciate the role of agriculture during this crisis and how the sector will lead the drive to re-ignite the economy.
A survey of Kiwis’ perceptions of agriculture, run by marketing research company One Picture, found the primary sector will be the returning hero in our economic recovery, Kiwis are now prouder than ever of agriculture and 67% of New Zealanders believe farmers will play a more important role than ever in helping the economy through this difficult time.
It said this is a chance to rebuild New Zealanders’ love for the agri sector and for people to better understand what we farm, how we farm and why we farm. It’s also a chance for those brands and businesses working in the regions and rural areas to show they’re getting behind and supporting our farmers – and winning trust in doing so.
I think the message for all of us in Team Ag is to keep doing what we’ve been doing – not to get defensive or bag others and to look for positives.
It’s agriculture’s chance to shine to an even greater extent.
Like many, Federated Farmers has given plenty of thought about what could help primary industries soak up the unemployment from tourism and other sectors that have been hit harder than us.
With climate change biting we’ve said investment in water storage infrastructure would help future-proof rural communities – townships and hinterland – and we also raised the idea of boosting employment through initiatives that will also have environmental and export product marketing benefits, such as investment in farmer and community-led catchment/waterway initiatives, more riparian planting and pest and wilding pine control.
There is also a need to retrain people who might now be jobless in roles that need filling, like tractor drivers and general farm hands.
But what I want to highlight are the benefits of more investment in rural connectivity.
Hundreds of thousands of urban workers and school students have been able to work and study from home through the lockdown because they already have the ultra-fast broadband, fibre and cell towers that deliver speeds that drive their web access, Netflix, gaming, social media and all the rest of it.
That’s not the case in many rural areas.
Despite the virus crisis highlighting more than ever that primary industries drive our economy and export earnings, connectivity down some of those winding country roads is often patchy, sometimes non-existent.
And so those farm-based businesspeople and their families drop in and out of Zoom meetings, tap fingers impatiently on the computer desk while a web page struggles to open and can’t complete bank transactions because those second-level authentication texts never arrive.
It’s not just that these farmers find it difficult to access vital information on the myriad business, government, regulation, weather, environment, trading and other topics they need to stay on top of to excel. What about all the leaps-and-bounds stuff in agriculture that is hampered by poor rural connectivity.
I’m talking about the tools that would take away half the environmental arguments and diminish a lot of the time, pain and cost of farming challenges. For example, networks of real-time soil and water sensors that would enable us to be more efficient with application of nutrients and irrigation.
The technology is there for us to have virtual fencing but the connectivity isn’t up to it. Blockchain could highlight to end consumers the wellness factors of food produced from paddock to plate.
Imagination might be our only limiting factor if rural areas enjoyed similar levels of connectivity to our city cousins.
We’ve got some very inventive small businesses. With the right connectivity they could choose to live and work in the provinces and hinterland rather than add to the pressure on urban infrastructure.
I engage with people on a variety of platforms and at international agricultural conferences. Cutting edge entrepreneurs and companies around the world are looking at how to tech-up farming and food production systems.
When I’ve suggested the global opportunities in this space are in the billions of dollars, folk from Silicon Valley have corrected me. Think trillions of dollars, they say.
Our Government is looking for ideas on recovering from the covid-19 hit and what stimulus would have payback.
I say let’s work on converting that innovative number eight wire mentality to number eight fibre. Never mind 5G technology, let’s go for 8G in our thinking.
