Enterprise Development
MAF’s monitoring work is also vital for enabling local communities to consider, and act on, their economic potential. Changes bring as many opportunities as they do threats. Local people may not, however, be skilled in recognising how to use their local resource base, or turn adversity into opportunity by seeking new ways to overcome the problems associated with change.
The key to dealing with service problems and economic development issues in rural areas is to ensure rural people have the information and skills they need to define the problems, find solutions, and act on them (or take the appropriate action to ensure that whoever is responsible for creating the problem works to resolve it).
MAF’s role has been to work with other agencies such as the Department of Labour’s Community Employment Group, various tourism agencies, Commerce’s Business Development Boards, various education and training organisations (such as the universities, Agricultural Industry Training Organisation and Rural Education Activity Programme co-ordinators), local government and others on three areas:
- improving access by rural people to leadership skills, business, management and interpersonal and social skills;
- enabling local identification of infrastructural needs and innovative ways of supplying these;
- enabling local identification of local and export market niches, opportunities for agricultural innovation, adding value and utilising social and cultural diversity and leveraging local resources and amenities to generate local enterprise.
The skills which lead to success in the agricultural sector can equally be applied to individual business establishment and to community rejuvenation projects. Skills development is a key feature of development and business growth. Rural people need information on how they can lift their management, business and marketing skills. MAF’s role is to work with those who provide education and skills training to encourage them to provide it in a format and at times and in locations where rural people know about it, and can easily access it.
Perhaps the most important aspect of local and regional community development, as for business development, is strategic planning to realise the commercial opportunities of local resources. For this to take place there is a need for effective leadership and management and investment of local resources, energy, ideas, and co-operation to capitalise on development opportunities. MAF’s role has been in information brokering and in bringing together different advisors from different agencies to provide the catalyst for development, to share information, strategies and processes for effecting change and managing change.
Examples: rural tourism and on-farm non-agricultural enterprises
Two projects MAF has undertaken reflect a gap in the knowledge of both central and local government agencies about the kinds of activities being carried out in rural areas. Ten years ago, most people in government considered agriculture, forestry and to a lessor extent mining to be the key rural industries, supported by health and education services and some business services like property, finance, legal and technical advice (there were also petrol stations and tea-rooms to meet the needs of the travelling public).
The importance of tourism and local manufacture of food products, clothing, craft goods, farm and other equipment in rural areas was overlooked because there is little data on these activities, and they are often the second occupation or enterprise carried out by people whose first occupation is farming. Many people were surprised to find that less than half of the population of rural New Zealand is involved in agricultural or primary industry production.
At the same time rural people, and farmers in particular, were unaware of the changed roles, policies and functions of the restructured central government which followed the introduction of new public management systems. A number of new and unfamiliar institutions were created which had the potential to assist farmers but were not readily recognised by them.
MAF’s work in rural tourism is an example where a facilitation programme aimed at reinforcing the goals of sustainable agriculture has identified another commercial land use. The initiating framework was the former Minister of Agriculture’s Rural Strategy Groups, set up to assist farmers to overcome the malaise of adverse climatic events, low commodity prices and economic restructuring. The groups were run by MAF regional staff to assist farmers and other landowners identify local economic opportunities. Diversification into rural tourism has emerged as a useful risk management strategy and alternative income source (Fairburn, 1997).
MAF’s work has achieved four outcomes. MAF has:
- assisted local communities and farmers to identify an economic opportunity;
- brought the needs of rural tourism operators to the attention of the tourism industry;
- facilitated the flow of information on rural tourism to potential operators, communities, local government and other agencies; and,
- been a catalyst in developing support and commercial networks between operators.
The outcome has had a positive impact on the economic sustainability of farms. Rural tourism provides a mechanism for broadening the economic base of rural communities which in turn sustains the service base on which agriculture depends. It is a powerful influence for building the social well-being of farmers. Alternative land-uses which emphasise aesthetic and recreational values lift morale, and the increased social contacts from meeting new people reduces insularity and provides exposure to new ideas and different attitudes and values. The supplementary income also enables the introduction of more ecologically sound land management practices.
MAF is now stepping back from its work in rural tourism. Other agencies such as the Department of Labour’s Community Employment Group have greater resources and the service delivery capacity to take over the enterprise development facilitation activity. MAF will continue to provide policy advice from its areas of expertise such as information on landuse and rural change.
MAF’s operational research continues to be a key source of information on the multiple economic enterprises of New Zealand farmers, both on- and off-farm. Key features of those engaged in such enterprises include a higher level of education than is usual for New Zealand farmers (post-tertiary education is common) finely honed marketing skills, and more advanced life-cycle stages (Taylor and Little, 1997).
A strong relationship has been found between alternative enterprises, sustainable agriculture and the wider community. Partnerships between local community leaders, private enterprise and government (local and central) are necessary for communities to build the capacity they need to manage local development opportunities.
The research also identifies local needs which when not addressed can impede economic growth, such as information about health and safety legislation, local government requirements under the Resource Management Act, and access to improvements in communications technology. Many issues can be overcome by the building of partnerships and networks for information sharing. Often perceived ‘red tape’ is more a matter of misunderstanding or incomplete information than a genuine legislative block. MAF’s role has been to assist rural people access the information or expertise they require either directly by providing a forum for people to come together to discuss the issues and plan solutions, or indirectly through the Rural Bulletin (see below).
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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