Rural initiatives
Farming trends
Green Ideas editorial team
Kiwi researcher Kate Beecroft has been studying New Zealand agriculture, with a particular eye on biological farming techniques, as part of her Masters thesis in politics at Massey University.
To date her research has revealed that:
- A combination of neoliberal economic policies and this country’s reliance on agricultural exports for GDP has triggered a drive for production and efficiency in farming. This has failed to consider effects that are passed on to society and the environment.
- Intensified dairying is responsible for the most serious environmental degradations.
- However, there are growing numbers of biological and organic farmers who are combining their farming knowledge with respect for the environment and producing healthy food with a reduced effect on the surrounding ecosystems. They are able to do this because growing public demand has created a market for environmentally friendly food.