Good evening ladies and gentlemen, growers and guests, thank you for inviting me here tonight. It is always a pleasure to be back in my home town of Christchurch.

Thank you also to Graham Martin and the Horticulture Canterbury Growers Society for organising this competition and the awards dinner.

Awards like these are good because they play an important part in celebrating winners. They also generate enthusiasm, and give industry a platform.

I don't need to convince anyone here of the importance of the vegetable industry to New Zealand. The challenge is convincing the rest of the country how important our primary sectors are.

One of my goals as your Minister is to reinforce to everyone the absolute importance of our industry to New Zealand's economy.

Farmers and horticulturists are business men and women who run complex operations, often in a difficult environment of high asset value, high turnover and low margins.

The horticulture industry like others in the primary sector needs to attract, retain, and develop smart young people who bring with them new energy, ideas and perspectives.

It seems to me, agriculture and horticulture could be more attractive, somehow we must make a career on the land "sexy" again.

Money is certainly a key attraction. Keeping returns high enough to get young people interested is a start. But to ensure our future, our industry must offer a career path, where top people can see themselves climbing a ladder of success.

We must make New Zealand's young people aware that in these tough times there is still plenty of opportunity in the primary sector.

Perhaps more than any other sector in New Zealand there is job security and prospects.

The primary sector is where this country's natural advantage lies.

Even with the current economic situation, people need to eat. In summary, it is a good time to be in the business of food production, especially as New Zealand is a food basket.

As the global population increases, the world must produce more food.

The world is already demanding clean, green, safe food. And I foresee no let up in demand for New Zealand's quality meat, dairy and horticultural products.

Tonight I will talk about five issues that Government has influence over and will make a difference for your industry.

Water
I have already mentioned our natural advantage. Water is paramount. What we are not doing well at is harnessing this potential. We are limited due to the lack of water storage infrastructure. It is an area I am determined to address.

My home patch of Canterbury is a case in point. Just this week I announced drought relief measures in North Canterbury, yet there are rivers running through the area which could ensure abundant production if harnessed sustainably. At present a staggering 96 percent of water goes out to sea.

One of my first actions as Minister of Agriculture was to convene the Water Infrastructure Forum in Christchurch in December. I included the Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, and the Minister of Economic Development so we could better understand the potential developments underway in Canterbury and Otago. We are now awaiting a strategy but sorting out this situation is a personal aspiration.

One of the reasons we need to develop a strategy is because of my second issue, climate change.

Climate change
Climate change is happening - it is irrelevant whether you believe it to be human-influenced or not; climate change is presenting challenges and we need to deal with these.

The reality is New Zealand has international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The Government is committed to a price-based mechanism to reduce emissions and meet these commitments.

The review of the Emissions Trading Scheme, currently underway, will ensure we balance economic realities with environmental responsibilities

My hope is we end up with an enduring solution.

Greenhouse Gas Foot-printing
Another compelling issue is the growing demand for environmental credentials on food products.

New Zealand is well placed as this trend continues. The Government is working with industry to ensure New Zealand can be influential in the development of international standards for carbon footprinting, and is seen as a leader and expert in applying these techniques to primary products.

A dozen exporters, including the onion industry, are working on greenhouse gas footprint research to identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions.

The Government has also entered into an agreement to part-fund a professorship in the Centre of Excellence in Life Cycle Analysis to be based at Massey University.

Research Funding
Now I want get on to research funding. Without research and innovation we stand still.

Innovation in the primary and food sectors will be a key driver of New Zealand's long-term economic growth and prosperity.

I'm sure you all know about the Fast Forward scheme proposed by the previous government. We did not agree with the scheme's funding mechanism.

National campaigned that funding of research and development should be responsive to the needs of the economy, both long and short term.

While I can't say much more until the Budget is out, this new programme will be all about the primary sectors making quantum leaps forward in their growth and contribution to the New Zealand economy.

We will be looking for added value, not business-as-usual; and industry will be expected to match the Government's investment.

Market Access
You may not realise the role the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and therefore I have in trade. This role has been highlighted time and again since I took up my position six months ago.

A successful conclusion of the Doha Round World Trade Organisation negotiations would bring significant benefits to your sector, but for now negotiations are stalled.

Bilateral Free Trade Agreements are therefore an important avenue for securing improved market access for primary sector exports, and of special relevance to many of the products you produce.

Earlier this year, along with the Prime Minister John Key, I hosted the President of the Republic of Korea. Negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between our two countries were agreed and will begin soon.

Another agreement, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, was signed by Trade Ministers in February this year. As a consequence, tariffs on onions will be eliminated by 2010 for Indonesia, and will be reduced from 40 percent to five percent in the Philippines, by 2018.

This work in trade is ongoing.

In summary
You can see from this, your Government is working hard on many policy fronts from which the horticultural industry will benefit.

We are here to help not hinder industry. We will remove obstacles rather than create them and provide leadership to ensure the primary sector's success and development in the future.

Now back to what we are here celebrating tonight - the success and development of Young Vegetable Growers.

It takes dedication, hard work, adaptability and skill to succeed.

I wish the winner all the best for the next round of the competition, and I wish all involved with the vegetable industry a prosperous future.