Taranaki Food and Agribusiness Value Chains of Interest to Southeast Asian Nations
Taranaki will host 21 government officials and middle managers from the private sector and non-governmental organisations from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, including the Philippines, Laos, Timor Leste, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, this month.
Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this cohort has received Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships to undertake a Food and Agribusiness Value Chains course delivered by Massey University.
Massey University, Taranaki Business Development Manager, Eve Kawana-Brown, says, "Massey has world-class leading agricultural technical expertise, including a long history of engagement in the agriculture industry in Asia.
We're thrilled that through this course, we can bring the international cohort to Taranaki to visit industry players and see real-life examples of food and agribusiness value chain management in practice."
Taranaki is renowned for its food production with a temperate climate, one of the highest sunshine hours in the country, and the ability to grow things well. The region also has capability, skills, suitable land, and entrepreneurial mindsets across the value chain, making for a thriving food ecosystem that has served the region and the regional economy well to date.
The Taranaki visit will allow the course participants to study local value chains, learn best practices, and applied practical knowledge that they can use for their own country's specific needs.
The cohort will visit some of the region's food and beverage success stories, including Barton Holdings, Van Dyck Fine Foods, and Juno Gin.
"Our visitors will also hear from Te Puna Umanga/ Venture Taranaki about their Branching Out initiative that aims to foster an environment that allows value chain diversification opportunities to be investigated, adopted, and to flourish, in Taranaki," explains Kawana-Brown.
Previous visits to New Zealand, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme, have forged connections between visiting ASEAN cohorts and industry, resulting in new export opportunities.
"We see ASEAN's visit as a significant opportunity to showcase our key strengths regionally and nationally and to foster global connections as a pathway for prospective export markets," concludes Kawana-Brown.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The food and Agribusiness Value Chains course investigates concepts and practices of value chain mapping, analysis, management, and performance in the context of innovative agribusiness development.
The Food and Agribusiness Value Chains programme has been designed explicitly for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme to meet the identified needs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
Dr Ramilan Thiagarajah and Professor Nicola Shadbolt of Massey University has developed the course that consists of field trips, including a Taranaki visit and presentations from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to provide an overview of the value chain and the role MPI plays in New Zealand.