Farmers, growers and whenua Māori owners have been supported by the Government to ramp up their efforts to reduce agricultural emissions and the impacts of climate change on local communities.

The investments detailed today during a Māori caucus roadshow across the country are part of a total Budget 2022 food and fibre sector package of more than $1 billion.

'New Zealand's economic security leans heavily on our clean and green brand, which provides a competitive edge for our largest export sector,” says Associate Minister of Agriculture Meka Whaitiri.

'Ensuring Māori farmers, growers and whenua Māori owners do their bit to reduce emissions means having the right information to makes informed decisions.

'Budget 2022 delivered $35.4 million to provide extra support through specialised climate-focused extension services to boost existing on-the-ground support to help farmers and growers adapt their practices and adopt new technology."

Whaitiri says that workshops, targeted groups, field days and other on-farm activities will be used to share learning and the most up-to-date information on low emissions practices.

'It will also fund tikanga-based programmes to develop and support long-term low emissions profiles for whenua Māori,” says Whaitiri.

'Further, a platform for Māori Climate Action will ensure the work under way on mitigation and adaptation is done in partnership with Māori," says Associate Environment and Emergency Management Minister, Kiri Allan.

'New Zealand faces some of the greatest natural hazard risks of any country in the world. The recent floods in Tairawhiti are a case in point. These are no longer one in 100 year events; a changing climate means that we can expect frequent and more extreme storms and floods," says Allan.

'The development of New Zealand's first National Adaptation Plan is an opportunity to see, in one place, across government, what is being done to adapt and what is proposed in the coming years.

'The intention of the Māori Climate Action platform is to align existing kaupapa and relationships, not as a single point of engagement between Māori and the Crown, but rather to provide support and coordination across climate both mitigation and adaptation, and make it easier for Māori communities to engage,” says Allan.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw says tangata whenua are disproportionately exposed to the impacts of climate change and there are particular risks and opportunities for Māori and the Māori economy in the transition.

'We must ensure a fair and equitable transition to a climate-friendly future for Māori. That transition should be led by Māori and that will require building Crown–Māori relationships and capability to work together as equal partners," says Shaw.

'The Māori climate platform will play a key part of the Emissions Reduction Plan – our blueprint for a low-carbon economy. It will play a critical role in how we embed that partnership, support Māori-led climate strategy and action plan, and enable kaupapa Māori actions and solutions to solutions."