4.5 EXTENT OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSES OF LEVY EXPENDITURE
There is considerable variability in the extent to which industry participants are aware of the purposes for which levies are expended.
- In some industries (wheat, herbage seeds, pipfruit, orchard fruit and berryfruit), a low level of awareness of the purposes of the levies was demonstrated overall. None of the focus group members, and virtually none of the respondents to the postal survey, were aware of the very specific purposes for which the Wheat Grains and Non-proprietary and Uncertified Herbage Seed Levies are collected. Focus group members expressed confusion over the relative roles of the many organisations involved in the orchard fruit industries and were not at all clear on the purposes of the levy expenditures. This was supported by the postal survey in which a high proportion of respondents was unable to answer this question. Of those who did, all attributed activities to the Orchard Fruit Levy that it does not fund (many of which are carried out by Fruitgrowers Federation using other sources of funds). With the exception of research (56 percent), fewer than half of the respondents to the survey acknowledged any of the other activities funded by the Pipfruit Levy. This levy is not used to fund research directly.
- Neither focus group members nor survey participants were sure of the purposes of the Berryfruit Levy. In a number of industries, the main purposes are well known. However, there appears to be less awareness of areas of lesser expenditure and a tendency to assume that more activities are funded than is the case. It is well known that the Foundation for Arable Research funds research, but only 34 percent of survey respondents knew that the levy is used to fund administration. Like the focus group members, many survey participants believe that FAR is involved in activities such as promotion that are specifically outside its brief. Similarly grape growers are aware of the primary focus of the levy (research) but a number of them believe it funds a range of activities in which the Grape Growers Council is not presently involved.
- The majority of beekeepers are aware of the areas in which the Bee Products Levy is expended. However, members of the focus group and 56.5 percent of survey respondents believe that it also funds commodity research. In fact, this is outside the purposes specified in the Levy Order. Both asparagus and export squash growers who responded to the survey appeared to be confused between the levies paid to Vegfed, which are purely to fund Council activities, and those paid to sector councils. The majority of other vegetable growers (although not always a large majority) appeared generally well informed on the main areas of levy expenditure. Like many other growers, they were less aware of minor expenditure areas and believed that levies funded a wider range of activities than is the case.
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Senior Policy Analyst
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
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NEW ZEALAND
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