Researchers reminded of responsibilities

Press, 7 September 1984, Page 13

Researchers reminded of responsibilities

New Zealand is going steadily broke and agricultural researchers have a responsibility to look hard at the work they are doing and consider its relevance. Mr Mike Gould, an assistant director-general of M.A.F. said a study of beef, lamb and wool realisations over the period since 1976 showed a steady decline which was continuing.

The conclusions to be drawn were that overseas customers were prepared to pay less and less for New Zealand’s products or they simply did not want them in their present form.

“If this trend continues we can look forward to further significant devaluations of our currency. In fact, it is not extreme to suggest that the recent devaluation was a result of this trend rather than a result of political activity.” Mr Gould was speaking to delegates at the 1984 convention of the Institute of Agricultural Science at Waikato University.

He questioned the theme of the convention — Pasture, the export earner — and suggested that grass of itself had no value at all. “It is too comfortable a notion to translate pasture into terms of export dollars. Such value of course derives from the animal product produced from that pasture. “But if those products are arguably not what the customer wants, the whole exercise becomes meaningless.

“For some 20 to 30 years we have had a variety of marketing people telling us that our sales opportunities lie in supermarkets rather than the old fashioned small retail outlets.

“We have not made very significant moves to act on this information. Much is presently heard about the lean lamb concept and we should be capitalising on this as fast as we can to produce super lamb for supermarkets. “If we don’t do these things the grass this convention is concerned with will become irrelevant because the lamb industry will be dead.”

Mr Gould said there had been some clashes at the margin of the pastoral industries and cited deer

farming, horticultural expansion and some innovative changes in the manufacturing sector beyond the farm gate. Nevertheless, the bulk of the five billion export dollars earned from pastoral industries was still derived from ruminant animals and there was little likelihood of a dramatic change in this situation, he said.

“We must place the emphasis on developing and getting adopted technology Sackages which will assist ie industry to prepare products customers will want and will be prepared to pay handsomely for. “This is going to require resources for research and development and I must warn you that there is not a bottomless pit of such resources.

“It is inevitable that a redistribution of available resources must take place and some of that must happen at the expense of production orientated research and development already taking place. “This is an inevitable part of change. But there is already evidence of resistance to such ideas despite apparent acceptance of the concept of more relevant processing and marketing.” Mr Gould said the programme of papers for the convention was solidly production orientated and he questioned the relevance of the N-Z.I.A.S. in such a context.

“In your role of bringing together all those concerned with primary production in this country should you not be seeking also the active participation of those who handle the product beyond the farm gate. Our future as a country may well hinge on their decisions about the raw material we provide them with.

“I believe the N.Z.I.A.S. has an important mission to Sits part in arresting the ■ of export realisation I have referred to. It can ensure that the contribution of its participating scientists is truly relevant to the problems we face.

“The stake is the standard of living we have all grown accustomed to and want to see maintained and improved.”