Value-Add: Creating a Food and Fibre Sector that provides opportunity for all

Value-add isn’t a new concept in the Food and Fibre sector. We are well acquainted with the term when talking about economics, however, value-add is something I am really interested in talking about in regards to people. Every person has value they provide because of who they are, their skills and many other reasons. Unfortunately though, not all people are able to add their value due to opportunities not being designed for them. By looking at value-add in the context of people and ensuring that ALL people of differing skill, ability and demographics are able to have the opportunity to contribute their value to the Food and Fibre Sector, we are able to create wide-reaching benefits for all.

My focus on value-add in this context has been something that has built over the last 18 months. Through personal experiences, having the opportunity to gain insights through work with The Whole Story and having a vehicle to further push this work through my role in the Agricultural Innovation Programme at Otago University, I have gained a lot of insight into how we can look to create more ways for people to add their value to the sector. It’s an important discussion to have but it is even more important that insights are used as an opportunity to reflect and create change for the future.

Why the focus on people?

People are a fundamental part of the Food and Fibre sector which can sometimes be forgotten or at least taken for granted. There is a lot of focus on profit through trying to strengthen our economic position and on planet through trying to be better caretakers of the environment. Of course we should focus on these, but without strategic and focused attention on the people who make the sector what it is, the sector is nothing. With the scrapping of Fit for a Better World which directly focused attention on strengthening profit, planet and people elements of the sector, it is even more important that while we keep attention on the Governments goal of doubling export value that we do not lose sight of the need and importance of the inherent value our sector receives from its people. 

Take a three-legged stool. The stool needs three strong legs for us to sit on it. Imagine the stool represents the success of the Food and Fibre sector. Do we want to put all our attention into one leg and precariously try to balance ourselves over time? Or, do we want to ensure that while the economic part of increasing profit is the overarching goal, we cannot do that or sit in the success comfortably if we have got there to the detriment of the other parts that underpin our sector.

Our sector has many challenges but those challenges also present immense potential for opportunity. So how can we channel this into creating opportunity for people? First we need to identify the barriers and then look to possible areas to create impact.

 

The power of perceptions

I want you to reflect for a moment here. 

What were your first perceptions of the Food and Fibre Sector? What did it encompass? What were the job prospects and opportunities? Who were the people in these roles and what were they like?

Even if we don’t hold the same perceptions today, they can still have an impact on the way we view the world. Perceptions can be powerful and limiting – particularly if we are looking for a reason why we aren’t able to do something or belong.

For me, my first perceptions of Food and Fibre was that it was male-dominated, Pākeha-centric, labour intensive, all about on farm, being strong and tough. Of rural professionals I saw while growing up on the farm the majority were men, I thought Lincoln or Massey were the only pathways into the sector and not often was there a female advisor on the other side of the kitchen table. Growing up I never aspired to work in Food and Fibre because I knew I wouldn’t be a farmer, an agronomist or another technical advisor like I saw come to the farm. And that was that. I distinctly remember feeling like I can’t add value to anything related to farming because I couldn’t fit that mold. However, in the last couple of years I have seen that what it means to work in Food and Fibre is so broad and there are opportunities for so many people but you can’t be what you can’t see.

My life experience also made me feel like I wasn’t a good fit for rural related work. Yes, I grew up on a farm which is a tick in the box, but living in an urban area, being gay, and the limitations of chronic illness/disability really didn’t seem like factors that worked in my favour regarding not only working in the sector but belonging there in a way that didn’t feel uncomfortable. I guess it all comes down to the fact that I couldn’t see people like me in the sector. Representation is underrated. It is critical and there is so so much power in having strong role models and being able to see yourself in others. While lack of representation doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t opportunity out there, it can mean it is harder to access, to be understood and accepted, and to be able to give the full level of value you have.

At the end of the day, we NEED people to want to work in the Food and Fibre sector. How many other people are out there not knowing or not believing that the sector is a place where they can come add their value and thrive? I bet there’s a lot. But how do we authentically allow them to be part of our sector and add their value here? We create opportunity.

How can we create more opportunities for people in the Food and Fibre Sector?

1. Changing perceptions AND investing in change

I’ve mentioned that perceptions are very powerful. We all have them but we may not all be aware the extent to which they have an impact. A key to creating greater opportunities for a wider range of people is changing perceptions of who these people are, what they look like, their backgrounds and so on. We have a complicated web of societal, industry and individual perceptions that influence who we prioritise for opportunity. If we need to do something differently, we need to view it differently. If we need to tap into a bigger labour market, we need to look differently at how to grow that labour market. A shift in how we see is the first step in getting things to be realised.

Changing perceptions is the first part because nothing changes if nothing changes. It is therefore critical that a change in perceptions is backed up with investment. Change is an active process – we have to do things in order for it to happen.

Changing perceptions means changing the way we think. Investing in change means we invest in doing things to ensure that change in thinking leads to tangible actions and outcomes.

Some awesome recent investments in this space have been:

  • B+LNZ Rural Leadership Advancement Scholarship:
    • 2 Livestock Farmers to undertake the Kellogg’s Rural Leadership Programme
  • BuildHER CV Programme
    • Pilot programme developed building on research into rural women solving part of the workforce challenges in rural areas
  • Engage programme by Rural Leaders and MfE
    • Focused on helping rural professionals to build confidence required to engage with F+F stakeholders

2. Life stages approach

How can we ensure that anyone along the life spectrum can be part of the Food and Fibre sector should they want to?

It’s really important that we are able to strike a balance so that we can create opportunities for people as young as possible, while also being aware of not creating barriers that exclude people from entering at later stages. We know that not all people in the sector grow up connected to farming and growing but that the sector needs people from various walks of life to be committed to the industry in order to ensure its success. This does require different approaches to target different demographics and ensure that we are creating ways for anybody to contribute.

It is important that this focus isn’t solely on age but also ensures inclusion across other social categories and demographics is also able to happen at all life stages.

There is a lot of focus on the need for diversity – of thought, of experience and so on. Generating diversity in boards, companies etc. can be hard to do authentically in a way that isn’t purely transactional. We need to want all people and what they bring and offer because of who they are, not what we can benefit from them.

How can we generate authentic diversity? By focusing on greater inclusion. Inclusion is an action but it also needs to be part of a broader culture. By prioritising all life stages we can ensure that people are included or have the opportunity at least if they take it up.

We often talk about having a seat at the table to represent different facets of society in our leadership. If we provide opportunity to include people this means they are already in the room and it isn’t then hard to then call them over to the table. However, if they’re not even in the building then it is very hard to get diversity to the table in a way that is authentic.

A great example of a life stages approach is that of Farmer Time for School. MPI and Beef+Lamb identified a challenge that there was a lack of connection and familarity with where out food comes. The opportunity they saw was to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate students to develop relationships and authentic education about food and fibre. This is an example that shows how a group of a particular life stage (at school but before formal ag subjects begin) can be prioritised to have exposure to the sector and allow them to get a feeling for the sector before they start to decide where the future takes them.

3. Innovation

How can we do things differently?

This may feel like a pretty obvious one. There is huge potential to make small tweaks to the way in which we do things so that more people can be involved in adding their value and talent to the sector. Innovation can allow us to find ways to:

  • be more efficient with time and reosurces
  • have work conditions that are less strenuous on workers and/or allow for an increased demographic who can carry out a job
  • include people who previously would have been excluded (increase accessibility)
  • improve conditions so that people stay in the job and/or come back if seasonal work, allowing for greater retention rates

Finding new ways of doing things can benefit everybody. How many of you use a laptop or an electric toothbrush? The typewriter (and its innovation to the laptop) and the electric toothbrush are two examples of innovations that were made to allow greater access for disabled people. The benefits of this innovation, however, are something which has expanded far beyond that of disabled people. Improving accessibility can benefit everyone and finding ways to improve so more people can add their value provides more dividends to the sector than was even intended at the design stage.

Some examples in this space that have innovated to create or enhance opportunity have been:
  • The Electronic Fruit Bin which has looked to help with the challenge of kiwifruit picking. Traditionally this has been a task that requires carrying up to 25kgs so has drastically reduced the potential demographic of pickers. The e-bin reduces the need to carry bags and instead fruit is picked directly into a bin that moves down the rows. This provides a way for more people to be able to undertake kiwifruit picking, improve conditions, increase labour demographics and more.
  • Ag Assist and Landify have both shown how the use of online platforms to create access to opportunity. They have opened up connections that have previously been hard to facilitate. There is huge value in how these two entities have gone about thinking differently and re-defining how employment and farm partnerships are done in New Zealand. Not only have they created access, but they have seen demographics who have previously been under-represented or not served well to be able to access meaningful opportunities that otherwise may have been hard to find.

4. Looking beyond employment

Looking beyond employment is a way of creating opportunity that is really important too. Employment isn’t everything and for many not something that is possible, so how can we create opportunity for people beyond employment too?

Who has ever felt better connecting with nature, the land, animals, water or sea? I know I have. Food and Fibre is great in that it is so associated with nature and that has well known benefits on wellbeing. There is huge potential for the sector to also be a place that fosters positive social benefits that aren’t linked to employment and/or provide pathways to employment should someone wish such as:

  • Social development
  • Therapeutic benefits
  • Volunteering
  • Hobbies and recreation, skill development
  • Connection with community
  • Education
For example, one way I feel I contribute is through growing native plants. While I can’t help too much physically on the farm over an extended period, I can add value by collecting native seed and propagating plants to grow on the farm. It’s an example of something that has no economic benefit to me but the benefits are vast in terms of time with nature, having purpose, contributing to biodiversity and more.
 
Two examples I really love are:
  • Hōhepa Hawkes Bay which provides individualised support for intellectually disabled children and adults. A key part of their service is having a farm which provides meaningful connection to the land and work opportunities for 60 people. They milk cows, make award-winning cheese, grow and sell fresh produce in their shop and so much more. Their motto is ‘Every life fully lived’ and they are providing the opportunity for people to be connected to food and fibre irrespective of who they are. Hōhepa are big on the belief that everyone has value to add and they have made the opportunity to do so a reality.
  • Ben Purua, a dairy farm manager who won the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year Award for 2024. He loves dairy farming and connecting with the whenua however his pathway to this sector was through working on the farm in Waikeria Prison. Ben is an amazing example of the power of farming, food and fibre to bring hope to your life and provide purpose. He has the ultimate goal of developing a transition farm to help people recently released from prison or on community-based sentences.

How have my perceptions changed? Well, they have changed a lot and continue to be re-tested and expanded over time. The opportunities to be part of the Food and Fibre sector are so vast but they can also appear to be hidden behind dominant perceptions and narratives. How did my perceptions change? By seeing, talking and listening to other people in the sector. Connections are critical and will continue to be so but there must be a better way that we can highlight all the possibilities the sector holds for those in New Zealand, no matter their background or life experience. There can be opportunities for everybody but you have a critical part to play in enabling it. Ask yourself – who isn’t in the room that could or should be here? How can I reduce the challenges for others by increasing opportunity?

There is a  common theme I take from the ways we do/can create opportunity for people in Food and Fibre and it is that opportunity grows where we think differently and dare to commit to change.

It’s already having an incredible impact. 

Sky’s the limit.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *