Wairarapa landowners are being encouraged to take up a grant scheme to plant forests, which has just received a $NZ22.5 million boost. Sources: Wairarapa Times, New Zealand Herald
Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew made a pre-Budget announcement at Federated Farmers Wairarapa president Jamie Falloon’s Bideford farm yesterday, saying it would be invested over the next six years and expected to result in 15,000ha of new forest.
She said the previous scheme had already proved valuable in the region.
“In Wairarapa, people have planted over 1000 hectares,” she said.
The 92ha was planted in Carterton, 172ha in South Wairarapa and 800ha in Masterton, mostly in small land blocks.
The issue of the rapid rate of deforestation was raised at the announcement.
Mrs Goodhew agreed the number of hectares being planted had dropped markedly.
“There is no magic bullet to change confidence in forestry sector planting,” she said.
“I believe if we can get the confidence to further processing so we don’t have forestry seen as simply harvesting logs and sending them offshore so there’s a good return in forestry for those who plant, that gives us a much better chance …”
Mr Falloon hoped farmers would use the scheme.
“We did some five years ago, it allowed us to use a block of land which had quite a bit of native bush so it worked really well.”
He said it gave landowners an economic return, which they didn’t previously have, satisfied climate change obligations and provided jobs.
MPI Director Partnerships and Portfolio Advice Stu Taylor said the government had 16 different grant schemes and a lot of Wairarapa people were using the sustainable farming fund.
