New Zealand is now officially looking offshore for agricultural experts to import due to a lack of qualified Kiwis to do the work. 

Five agricultural science occupations were added to the Immigration Department’s long-term skills shortage list in December – making it easier for migrants with these qualifications to get into the country.

And the Labour Party says the shortage is a reflection on a lack of planning by the Government and that it must implement a strategy to ensure we are planning ahead.

Grant Robertson, Labour's spokesperson for Tertiary Education, Skills and Training, said for him it is a little bit like a position for the All Blacks  being put on the immigration skills shortage list.

"If there’s one country in the world that should be producing agricultural scientists to help further our economy it’s New Zealand.

"And to see agricultural science placed on the skills shortage list is an indictment of a lack of good planning and policies to ensure we have the labour force we need in New Zealand." 

Mr Robertson says its vital New Zealand a plan in place to ensure we can keep growing and adding value to the agricultural sector.

"So we need to ensure that we keep training people that we offer support for people to get up to the PhD level which is actually required in a lot of these jobs.

"I also think we need to look at getting New Zealanders who are overseas working in these fields back to New Zealand."

Mr Robertson says the shortage of agricultural scientists in New Zealand will have a very real impact on the farm.

"New Zealand has had a long tradition of being at the cutting edge of the innovations in the agricultural sector what we must ensure is that we have got the skill base to keep that happening.

"So yes this will have an impact on us not necessarily being at that cutting edge and not necessarily leading those innovations if we don’t have those people."

The Department of Labour told Country 99TV that the five agricultural science occupations which have been added to the long-term skills shortage list to be filled by migrants are – farm systems scientists, applied social scientists, animal scientist or bioinformatics, genetics scientists and water quality analysts.