About ARGOS
ARGOS stands for the Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability. It has been formed to undertake a research programme aimed at comparing different land management (farming) systems in the sheep / beef and kiwifruit sectors and in selected Maori-owned farm land. The Research Programme commenced in October 2003 and is funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and some industry partners.
You may also recognise the name ARGOS from Greek mythology when Jason and his intrepid band of Argonauts set forth in the good ship Argos to steal back the Golden Fleece. Hopefully that is a good omen for our sheep farmers. Our kiwifruit growers will also benefit from having our very own Jayson (Benge) at the helm. But wait, it gets even better! ARGOS is also an Ancient Greek word denoting a fertile agricultural plain. The present town of ARGOS was probably occupied by farmers since the Early Bronze Age. Today, 5000 years later, ARGOS is still a prosperous agricultural and commercial centre for vegetables and fruit grown in the plain and for the food-processing industries based on them. How's that for sustainable agriculture?
The research will build on previous research by the University of Otago that has systematically monitored and analysed developments in novel technologies, such as organic or Integrated Management systems, in New Zealand primary production. The ARGOS programme will provide evidence of the economic, environmental and social effects of different farming systems, and focus attention on farmers as innovators.
The ARGOS team is not just united around a goal to help New Zealand farmers prosper by sustaining their land, business and families. They are also joined at the hip by a basic belief in taking a united approach to strengthening three inter-locked pillars of sustainability: enhanced social, environmental and economic outcomes. We don't see how long-term solutions can emerge unless we look at all three challenges at the same time. That's why we have taken special care to assemble a team of practical and experienced ecologists, economists and sociologists. Too often, environmental outcomes are viewed as though they always compete with economic or social objectives, so that some sort of trade-off will be needed. We hope to go several steps better than that. By working together with farmers, we'll try to identify strategies that deliver wins for social, economic and environmental improvements.
You may also recognise the name ARGOS from Greek mythology when Jason and his intrepid band of Argonauts set forth in the good ship Argos to steal back the Golden Fleece. Hopefully that is a good omen for our sheep farmers. Our kiwifruit growers will also benefit from having our very own Jayson (Benge) at the helm. But wait, it gets even better! ARGOS is also an Ancient Greek word denoting a fertile agricultural plain. The present town of ARGOS was probably occupied by farmers since the Early Bronze Age. Today, 5000 years later, ARGOS is still a prosperous agricultural and commercial centre for vegetables and fruit grown in the plain and for the food-processing industries based on them. How's that for sustainable agriculture?
The research will build on previous research by the University of Otago that has systematically monitored and analysed developments in novel technologies, such as organic or Integrated Management systems, in New Zealand primary production. The ARGOS programme will provide evidence of the economic, environmental and social effects of different farming systems, and focus attention on farmers as innovators.
The ARGOS team is not just united around a goal to help New Zealand farmers prosper by sustaining their land, business and families. They are also joined at the hip by a basic belief in taking a united approach to strengthening three inter-locked pillars of sustainability: enhanced social, environmental and economic outcomes. We don't see how long-term solutions can emerge unless we look at all three challenges at the same time. That's why we have taken special care to assemble a team of practical and experienced ecologists, economists and sociologists. Too often, environmental outcomes are viewed as though they always compete with economic or social objectives, so that some sort of trade-off will be needed. We hope to go several steps better than that. By working together with farmers, we'll try to identify strategies that deliver wins for social, economic and environmental improvements.