The government and the Bank of New Zealand are together committing $8 million to the AgriZeroNZ programme to reduce agricultural emissions.
This sees BNZ become a shareholder in AgriZeroNZ, a public-private joint venture to accelerate the development, commercialisation and uptake of practical tools for farmers to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
Other shareholders include the a2 Milk Company, ANZ, ASB, ANZCO, Fonterra, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait, alongside the Crown.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said this takes the overall investment in AgriZeroNZ to $191m. Half that of that funding is Crown investment.
“The joint venture shows the increasing commitment to get emission reduction tools into the hands of farmers sooner,” he said.
“New Zealand farmers are the world’s most efficient producers. It doesn’t make sense to send jobs and production overseas, while less carbon-efficient countries produce the food the world needs.
“That is why we are focused on finding practical tools and technology to reduce agricultural emissions in a way that won’t reduce production or export revenue.”
This takes government investment in agricultural emission reducing projects to $400m.
It is funding projects to identify and breed low emitting animals, develop methane and nitrous oxide inhibitors and supporting global research collaborations to find solutions.
Other work underway includes early R&D investments through the Centre for Climate Action consisting of genetic research, methanogen vaccine research, early life intervention studies, development of better on-farm emissions measurement tools, and effluent and feed management research.
