The government has announced its intention to turn the country’s fresh water into gold by investing massively in regional-scale agricultural irrigation schemes throughout New Zealand.
In the coming years the government believes it can help establish 340,000 hectares of new irrigation systems – which in turn could boost export returns by $1.4 billion by 2018.
The government is to spend 35 million dollars over the next five years on stage one of its Irrigation Acceleration Fund, financing those proposing irrigation schemes so they can conduct their feasibility work, and get their schemes to an investment-ready prospectus stage.
Stage two of the project will see 400 million more taxpayer dollars spent on bankrolling the schemes themselves, allowing the government to become a cornerstone shareholder in the larger irrigation projects that it hopes will also attract private investors.
Agriculture Minister David Carter says the irrigation schemes, which are part of the National Policy Statement on Fresh Water, will benefit farms throughout the country.
“The work that myself and MAF have done indicates there is potential for irrigation around many parts of New Zealand; Northland, Waikato certainly the Hawkes Bay, Waiarapa, Canterbury and Otago.
“Having said that the greatest area of potential is indeed Canterbury where we’ve recognized there’s at least 250,000 hectares that could reliably irrigated provided we find a way to store water."
Fonterra welcomed the Fund’s announcement saying the investment in water storage will boost the country’s wealth, while Federated Farmers could barely contain its delight.
Its water spokesman, Lachlan McKenzie, says the move will make New Zealand the world’s 'real lucky country'.
The Feds estimate that for every dollar the government invests in water storage – eight dollars will be generated for the economy.
Yet both Labour and the Green Party say the move simply gives the green light to the rapid expansion of intensive farming which they say is already destroying the country’s waterways.
Lachlan McKenzie says environmental fears about intensive farming are simply unfounded.
