New researchers should focus on primary industry

New researchers should focus on primary industry

Federated Farmers wants a plan to attract the world’s top scientists to New Zealand to concentrate on those who will work on primary sector initiatives and the environment.

Federated Farmers President Dr William Rolleston says it makes sense for the government’s $35 million ‘Entrepreneurial Universities’ programme to build knowledge in areas which are key to New Zealand’s economic and environmental needs.

The four year programme, announced by Minister Steven Joyce on Wednesday, aims to encourage the world’s leading researchers to bring their teams to work in New Zealand.

"This programme will help New Zealand keep up with the scientific developments already going on around the globe.

"Federated Farmers is keen to engage in the programme to help identify areas of opportunity for the primary industries and the environment," Dr Rolleston says.

Agriculture is a high-tech industry that is intimately linked to the environment.

"The industry’s scale brings great opportunities for entrepreneurs. It’s critical our farmers have all the tools of modern biology available to them, plus capability in high-tech areas so that we can stay at the forefront as the digital and biology revolutions unfold."

Federated Farmers believes the programme should be about encouraging industry and universities to think about how New Zealand can develop entrepreneurial opportunities, especially in the areas where we already have strength, like biological technologies.

"Our best and biggest opportunities are where we already have strength and scale," Dr Rolleston says.

ENDS

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