Ministers welcome horticulture into the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition

The Minister for Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta and the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, say bringing horticulture into the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy competition is a major milestone for Māori. 

The 2020 Ahuwhenua competition will mark the first time horticulture is included. 

Minister Mahuta told delegates at the Horticulture New Zealand conference in Hamilton that next year will see Māori farmers, trusts and incorporations compete for being the top Māori horticulture enterprise in the country. 

“Up until now, the competition has only involved sheep and beef and dairy, but with the rapid growth and investment by Māori in horticulture, it is now part of the competition”. 

Minister O’Connor announced that government financial support for the event would also increase. 

“Māori are significant players across our horticultural sector, both in the fruit and vegetable industries, and across the supply chain. Māori agribusiness will be a big part of New Zealand's future,” he said.   

“In recognition of the important role that Māori play in horticulture and in the primary sector, it is my pleasure to announce that Te Puni Kōkiri and MPI will be platinum sponsors of the Excellence in Māori Horticulture Award in 2020. Part of this sponsorship will include 12,000 tree seedlings supplied by the Minginui Nursery, and made possible through our One Billion Trees Programme." 

The competition is designed to promote excellence in Māori Farming and Horticulture. A special cup, identical to the ones for dairy, and sheep and beef has been crafted especially for next year’s event.

“It is an exact replica of the trophies designed by Goldie, the New Zealand artist renowned for his paintings of Māori leaders and communities,”  says Hon Nanaia Mahuta.

“The creation of the trophy has been an international collaborative effort between The Village Goldsmith in Wellington, Te Puia, the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, and the firm of Ottewill who are based in Ashford in the county of Kent, southeast of London,”.

Minister Mahuta says Māori are now major players in the horticultural sector, producing at least ten percent of the annual kiwifruit crop, as well as avocados and berries as rapidly expanding crops.

“Right across the primary sector Māori are excelling. They are taking ownership of their land, forming collaborative partnerships, taking their products directly to world markets and this all adds to the establishment of profitable and sustainable businesses that are guided by Māori values.

“Government is dedicated to improving the economic and social wellbeing of Māori,” says Nanaia Mahuta.

Kua tāwhiri ngā minita i te Ahumāra ki te whakataetae Tohu Ahuwhenua

E kī ana Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, Te Hōnore Nanaia Mahuta rāua ko Te Minita Ahuwhenua a Damien O’Connor, he mea nui mā te Māori te kawenga o te ahumāra ki roto ki te whakataetae nui whakaharahara Te Tohu Ahuwhenua. 

He tuatahitanga tēnei te kuhutanga mai o te ahumāra ki roto i te whakataetae Ahuwhenua 2020. 

I kī ake a Minita Mahuta ki ngā māngai i te hui Ahumāra Aotearoa i tū ki Kirikiriroa hei te tau e tū mai nei ka kitea ngā kaipāmu, ngā rūnanga me ngā kaporeihana e whakataetae ana kia eke ki te taumata tiketike o te mahi ahumāra Māori puta noa i te whenua. 

“Tae noa ki tēnei wā, ko te hipi, ko te mīti kau, me te miraka kau anake i roto i te whakataetae, engari i runga i te pikinga o ngā mahi, o te whakapaunga hoki a te iwi Māori ki te ahumāra kua whai wāhi mai ināianei ki te whakataetae”. 

I pānuitia hoki e Minita O’Connor ka piki hoki te tautoko ā-pūtea a te kāwanatanga mō te whakataetae. 

“He nui ngā Māori puta noa i te rāngai ahumāra, ahakoa te ahumahi huarākau, huawhenua rānei, kei roto ia i ngā kokonga o aua mahi katoa. Hei ngā rā e heke mai nei ka noho hei mea nui whakahirahira te mahi ahuwhenua ki Aotearoa,” tana kī.   

“Hei whakamihi i te tūnga nui a te Māori i roto i ngā mahi a te ahumāra, otirā i te rāngai matua tonu, e koa ana te ngākau te kī atu ka noho Te Puni Kōkiri me te Manatū Ahu Matua hei kaitautoko ā-pūtea Matua o te Tohu Ahumāra Māori ā te tau 2020.  Ko tētahi wāhanga o te tautoko ā-pūtea ko ngā māhuri 12,000 mai i te Minginui Nursery, nā te Kaupapa Kotahi Piriona Rākau”. 

Ko te tikanga o te whakataetae he whakatairanga i te kairangi o te mahi Ahuwhenua, Ahumāra Māori. Kua waihangaia he kapu motuhake, he ōrite ki ngā kapu mō te miraka kau, te hipi me te mīti kau, mō te hui ka tū hei te tau e tū mai nei.

“He ōrite katoa ki ngā tohu i hoahoatia e Goldie, te kaitoi rongonui o Aotearoa, e mōhiotia whānuitia ana mō ōna whakaahua o ngā rangatira me te iwi Māori, te kī a Te Hōnore Nanaia Mahuta.   

“He mahi tahitanga ā-ao te hanganga o te tohu i waenga i The Village Goldsmith i Pōneke, Te Puia, Te Whare Toi Māori ki Rotorua, me te tari o Ottewill kei Ashford i te rohe o Kent i te tonga mā rāwhiti o Rānana”. 

E kī ana a Minita Mahuta he iwi matua te iwi Māori i te rāngai ahumāra, e whakaputa ana i te tekau ōrau o te huanga kai huakiwi, tae noa ki ngā rahopūru me ngā huariki, koia ētahi o ngā momo hua e piki haere ana. 

“E tino eke panuku ana te Māori puta noa i te rāngai matua.  Kei te hoki rātou ki ō rātou whenua, e whakarite ana i ngā tuituinga mahi tahi, e haria ana ō rātou hua ki ngā mākete o te ao, ā, mā konei e kitea ana te whakatūtanga o ngā pakihi whai pūtea, pūmau hoki te noho i runga i ngā tikanga Māori.” 

“Kua ngākau nui te kāwanatanga ki te whakapiki i te oranga ā-ōhanga, ā-pāpori hoki a te iwi Māori,” te kī a Nanaia Mahuta.