Mission
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MAF - Advancing the agriculture, horticulture, forestry and food sectors for the benefit of all New Zealanders |
MAF wants to see, and contribute to, a future where:
New Zealanders celebrate dynamic, scientifically sophisticated and prosperous agricultural, horticultural, forestry and food sectors that lead growth and innovation in the economy and underpin our ability to achieve the economy, environment and society to which all New Zealanders aspire.
This is the Overarching Outcome that the Ministry is pursuing. For ourselves we want to see MAF valued for the unique contribution it makes to the prosperity of the sectors, the protection and enhancement of the environment and the achievement of social aspirations. This sets the objective for how we will operate and for the development of our Capability as an organisation.
Rationale Underpinning the Mission, Overarching Outcome and Capability statement
Summarising in one sentence an Overarching Outcome for an organisation as diverse as MAF has not been an easy task. This rationale helps to explain the thinking behind the Overarching Outcome and also our deliberate choice of words.
New Zealanders celebrate - because the agriculture, horticulture, forestry and food sectors matter for all New Zealanders. Attracting resources, skills and opportunities requires public recognition that these sectors matter and that they are the engines that enable all New Zealanders to enjoy the lifestyles that define what it is to be a New Zealander. With recognition of the contribution the sectors make comes the ability to attract the people, capital, ideas and skills necessary to ensure a strong future.
Dynamic - because to progress there must be change, a willingness to adapt and innovate.
Scientifically sophisticated - because the application of good science to production, processing, risk assessment and product development has, and will continue to be, at the heart of the sectors' ability to enhance efficiency and innovation.
Scientifically sophisticated - because it is important to shift the image of New Zealand s agriculture, horticulture, forestry and food sectors from their pioneering past into an innovative, high-technology and consumer-driven future. This is about providing high-skilled, high-productivity and high- income careers for New Zealanders, supporting the lifestyle aspirations we all have.
Prosperous - because without profits there is no investment and no capacity to generate the environmental and social gains all New Zealanders desire.
Leading growth and innovation - because New Zealand has ambitions to return to the top half of the OECD in terms of per capita incomes. That means productivity growth, and that demands innovation. The agriculture, horticulture, forestry and food sectors have demonstrated consistently through the past decade that they can lead New Zealand s productivity race. They are sufficiently large that, without the continued full participation of these sectors, we will be unable to meet our national growth ambitions.
Our economic, environmental and social aspirations - because we don't seek growth for its own sake, but for the lifestyles and values it enables us to support. With economic progress comes enhanced capacity to provide the education, health and other services we wish to provide. Wealthier economies are better able to meet the environmental preferences of their citizens and, increasingly, we will need to demonstrate environmental integrity in order to meet customer demands in our domestic and export markets.
MAF is valued for the unique contribution it makes - because MAF's unique contribution is derived from our knowledge and understanding of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, food and the associated industries and institutions. More specifically, and flowing directly from New Zealand s highly unusual dependence on exports of primary products, including forestry products, we have a key attribute in our influence over, and knowledge of, SPS principles and standards, and the related frameworks 2 governing international trade in primary products.
Prosperity of the sectors, the protection and enhancement of the environment and the achievement of social aspirations - here we are signalling the difference we want to make. Economic prosperity is top of our list and top of the Government s list. But we cannot achieve that without recognition by all New Zealanders of the significance of environmental and social objectives. The achievement of each of these objectives can only be met and sustained by the simultaneous achievement of the other two. Evidence of that is found in a succession of Government decisions that establish MAF's role in issues such as water allocation and quality, animal welfare, rural affairs, Maori development, public health (food safety and quality), through the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), and in the broader environmental aspects of the biosecurity programme.
Contact for Enquiries
Strategy and Performance Group
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0738
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