Exports appetite binds ties abroad

New Zealand is a major food exporter to the Emirates and here, Steve Jones, the trade commissioner in Dubai for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, talks about the two countries’ agricultural links and technological developments.

How important is the UAE as an export market for New Zealand?

New Zealand has been exporting food and beverage [F&B] products to the UAE for more than 30 or 40 years now. The UAE is currently New Zealand’s [NZ] second-largest market in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia. Total trade between NZ and the UAE stood at US$1.05 billion in the year to June 2013. F&B made up over 87 per cent of NZ’s top 20 exports to the UAE.

What role is technology playing to address food security issues?

Food security is high on the agendas of many countries. With farms increasing scale over the years, technology has enabled farmers to deal with more stock, all the while reducing labour input. Technology is enabling farmers to better manage stock, particularly on farms that may cover large tracts of land, or manage feed and nutrients in a more sophisticated way that results in high production yields overall. It is also enabling farmers to more efficiently and cost-effectively produce larger volumes of milk and meat.

How does New Zealand use technology to address food security?

New Zealand uses ICT products, services and equipment along the entire food production cycle including on the farm, in food production facilities, for food safety and assurance and shipping and transportation. New Zealand’s on-farm innovations and innovation farm machinery and equipment initiatives have contributed to increasing efficiency. From simple devices that attach to a tractor to temporary cattle and sheepyards and mobile crushers, advances in equipment have reduced costs and improved productivity on farms.

What roles do sensors play in monitoring agriculture and water resources?

Sensors and monitoring equipment are becoming increasingly common on farms around the world to enable farmers to better manage stock, food, nutrients and irrigation. Outpost Central is a New Zealand company that develops smart water-metering solutions to help water utilities and commercial and industrial customers save water. Their small waterproof device, with over 10 years battery life, connects to most types of water meter and it measures water flows and volumes every 5 minutes and sends data to a website for analysis and automatic leak detection. The Outpost solution is very simple and fast to deploy and can result in the immediate savings of water through the detection of leaks and by providing detailed information on water consumption. Gallagher Group [also in NZ] has also advanced animal weighing and electronic identification equipment, enabling farmers to measure their livestock performance and thereby manage the costs of production per unit output.

thamid@thenational.ae

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