By Gemma Carroll, Communications & Engagement Officer Potatoes New Zealand
The 2018 Biosecurity Forum held in Auckland, was an opportunity for Biosecurity New Zealand to celebrate it’s successes and to present the Biosecurity Implementation Plan 2025.
The plan speaks of transforming “the way we do biosecurity” under increasing pressure and acknowledges that things need to change.
There are five main programmes of work, which will affect change in the following ways:
- Kaitiakitanga – by monitoring, reporting and managing system health.
- Creating a movement – by establishing proactive positive behaviours and collaboration.
- Collaborating in knowledge – share research, development and technology.
- Building resilience – a system approach to skills, assest, regulatory frameworks and networks.
- Enabling smart data – ways to share data to enable analytics, science, research and intelligence.
It is hoped that these 5 programmes will enable Culture change and Enabling a network of networks.
The relevance of these values to the Potato Industry, is that we are wholly supportive of Biosecurity being personally relevant to all. We agree that the more we can all work together, the better for all and the more effective the responses.
All New Zealanders need to fully realise how important our fresh producers are for our own food supply and economic contribution.
PNZ agrees that Biosecurity for our farms is integral to our resilience as an industry, in a time of increasingly pressured border security. New Zealand is being visited by more and more tourists, cruise ships, E-Commerce bringing in products from overseas and farmers importing machinery easily.
PNZ feel hopeful that Biosecurity NZ’s new plan will create a strong support system for our industry in the future.
The goal of enabling networks, really goes without saying and certainly will be driven by all New Zealanders understanding the value of industry.
Once we have cultural change, then we can connect the networks, to support the strength of responses. Collaborating with common goals – to protect our land, our food, our grower industry.
The work is due to start in the next 2-3 years and PNZ will observe with interest any resulting changes.
To view the Biosecurity 2025 Plan in full, visit www.thisisus.nz