Federated Farmers is pleased the government has recognised solutions to agricultural emissions lie in new technologies and tools, and is stepping up investment on that front.

"Nitrate and methane inhibitors, gene editing, animals bred for their lower methane ‘burping’ - they’re the kind of advances that will enable New Zealand’s farming sector to continue to perform for the nation’s economy while maintaining our world-leading meat and dairy carbon footprint," Feds President and climate change spokesperson Andrew Hoggard said.

It will be important to understand how the proposed new Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions fits with existing bodies such as the NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, the Pastoral GHG Research Consortium (PGGRC) and the international bodies New Zealand partners with, such as the Global Research Alliance.

"New Zealand farmers have been funding millions of dollars into greenhouse gas mitigation tools since 2003 via the PGGRC," Andrew said.

It will also be crucial that our regulatory framework is worked on at the same time as acceleration of research and commercialisation of these tools "so that when they’re ready, we can get on with using them.

"At present there is no category to register feed inhibitors for use on our farms, for example," Andrew said.

"And Feds again make the point we’ve made many times previously - serious investigation and society-wide discussion is needed on the role genetic technologies - particular gene editing - can play in the thorny environmental issues confronting us. Feds supports giving food producers and consumers the choice with gene editing technology.

"If we are not open to all solutions, we risk losing our world-leading emissions footprint as other countries embrace the innovation we are ignoring."

Andrew said those who continue to claim the answer lies in just cutting fertiliser and going totally organic need to look at what has just happened in Sri Lanka. "That’s the short-sighted path that nation’s government pursued and now they’re in a food and economic crisis they’re desperate to reverse and get back to where they were."

© Scoop Media