SLMACC Project
The Evaluating Intensification Trajectories in the Context of Climate Change (AgICC) project has been commissioned by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) through the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change (SLMACC) initiative.
Vision of the research project:
The Evaluating Intensification Trajectories in the Context of Climate Change project will ensure that New Zealand pastoral farmers can capture benefits from and adapt to potential constraints imposed by climate change. Our farmers will maintain a market advantage through efficient production of high quality food and fibre grown within intensive farming systems by following different types of and more finely tuned intensification strategies that incorporate economic, ecological and social dimensions. Our pastoral farmers and agricultural policy makers will be better prepared for shocks and drivers emerging in world food and fibre markets triggered by climate change.
The project's vision statement is aspirational. The ideal outcome would be the identification or development of an intensification strategy that improves, rather than constrains, the resilience of New Zealand's pastoral agriculture sector in adapting to climate change. Certain trajectories of agricultural intensification do not address the risks posed by climate change. However, intensification carries the potential to drive economic growth in New Zealand.
Agricultural intensification has been a major component of New Zealand agriculture for several decades, and continues to accelerate (MacLeod and Moller, 2006). This intensification has contributed to New Zealand’s position as a competitive player in the increasingly globalised and interconnected food marketplace. In particular, it supports New Zealand's position as a global leader of dairy production (MfE 2009).
This AgICC project began in October 2012 and has targeted completion of ten Milestones by September 2014:
1. Gaining ethical approval (achieved November 2012)
2. Completion of a literature review to identify preliminary intensification trajectories for interview themes and scenarios for economic modeling
3. Interviews with farmers and farm consultants and analysis of these
4. Economic evaluation of specific types of intensification
5. Development of potential policy drivers
6. Completion of initial findings
7. Conducting three workshops, allowing the formulation of policy and on-farm practice recommendations
8. Production of a report to stakeholders containing recommendations for policy design and the achievement of best practice relative to intensification
9. Production of a document for farmers promoting informed response by sheep and beef and dairy farmers to drivers of intensification
10. Final report to the MPI
Consultation documents and MPI approved reports will be added to this page as they are completed.
Vision of the research project:
The Evaluating Intensification Trajectories in the Context of Climate Change project will ensure that New Zealand pastoral farmers can capture benefits from and adapt to potential constraints imposed by climate change. Our farmers will maintain a market advantage through efficient production of high quality food and fibre grown within intensive farming systems by following different types of and more finely tuned intensification strategies that incorporate economic, ecological and social dimensions. Our pastoral farmers and agricultural policy makers will be better prepared for shocks and drivers emerging in world food and fibre markets triggered by climate change.
The project's vision statement is aspirational. The ideal outcome would be the identification or development of an intensification strategy that improves, rather than constrains, the resilience of New Zealand's pastoral agriculture sector in adapting to climate change. Certain trajectories of agricultural intensification do not address the risks posed by climate change. However, intensification carries the potential to drive economic growth in New Zealand.
Agricultural intensification has been a major component of New Zealand agriculture for several decades, and continues to accelerate (MacLeod and Moller, 2006). This intensification has contributed to New Zealand’s position as a competitive player in the increasingly globalised and interconnected food marketplace. In particular, it supports New Zealand's position as a global leader of dairy production (MfE 2009).
This AgICC project began in October 2012 and has targeted completion of ten Milestones by September 2014:
1. Gaining ethical approval (achieved November 2012)
2. Completion of a literature review to identify preliminary intensification trajectories for interview themes and scenarios for economic modeling
3. Interviews with farmers and farm consultants and analysis of these
4. Economic evaluation of specific types of intensification
5. Development of potential policy drivers
6. Completion of initial findings
7. Conducting three workshops, allowing the formulation of policy and on-farm practice recommendations
8. Production of a report to stakeholders containing recommendations for policy design and the achievement of best practice relative to intensification
9. Production of a document for farmers promoting informed response by sheep and beef and dairy farmers to drivers of intensification
10. Final report to the MPI
Consultation documents and MPI approved reports will be added to this page as they are completed.