Chief Executive's Introduction
The SOI sits at the heart of our planning and organisational development processes.
It describes MAF's role and ambitions, summarises the global and domestic challenges shaping our operating environment, outlines our contributions to the Government's goals, and demonstrates how we manage our resources and measure our performance in delivering on our expanding mandate.
- Ensure MAF is effective, efficient, influential, relevant and performing
MAF, through its engagement with our primary industries, plays a key role in the Government's priority of working toward our economic transformation to a high income, knowledge based market economy, which is both innovative and creative and provides a unique quality of life to all New Zealanders. The economic transformation priority provides a clear basis for the work we are undertaking over the next few years. As a lead agency for the sustainable development part of this Government priority, MAF assists New Zealand's most important industries - agriculture, horticulture, food and forestry - to realise their full potential. These primary industries are the key drivers of our economic growth, standard of living, health, lifestyles and our sense of who and what we are as New Zealanders − our national identity.
We assist the primary industries by keeping abreast of the needs and challenges facing them into the future, and positioning ourselves to assist New Zealand to overcome those challenges. The SOI outlines a number of initial decisions we have taken, representing a new stage in our strategic direction which will be developed further over the next three years. The significant changes are:
- Clarification of sustainable development as a core theme in our work.
- Introduction of three cross-cutting strategic priorities.
- A focus on driving performance towards achievement of our strategic goals.
- Building on the recent strengthening of organisational capacity to take a more integrated approach to organisational development and business.
These significant changes are captured in our four key outcomes and also in the development of the three strategic priorities.
The four outcomes focus on:
- Encouraging a high-performing sector.
- Developing safe and freer trade.
- Ensuring healthy new Zealanders.
- Protecting our natural resources.
The three strategic priorities identify key areas where MAF will focus to achieve its mission of "enhancing New Zealand's natural advantage" in a manner that promotes sustainable development.
Sustainable Development: What does sustainable development mean in practice and who do we need to work with to give it substance?
Regulatory Philosophy and Frameworks: The review and refinement of MAF's conceptual regulatory framework - at both the design and implementation stages.
Technical Rules in Trade: What are New Zealand's interests in the international rule setting forums and institutions? How do we maximise the long term advantages for New Zealand through the application of these technical rules?
MAF's place in an ever changing and challenging environment, and the new developments needed to succeed amounts to a heavy work load for an already very busy organisation. To support these changes MAF has an ongoing organisational development programme addressing the need to be a coherent, well-integrated and future thinking organisation, shifting its focus from reactive to proactive New Zealanders.
Murray Sherwin
Director-General
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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