8. Promoting industry and rural community development
The broader economic and social environment significantly affects New Zealand's ability to produce quality products and take advantage of opportunities offered by international markets. This category provides information which will assist in developing and implementing policies which encourage the development of an efficient domestic business environment and viable rural communities.
Research activities will include:
- Determining the impact of the socio-economic environment on agriculture and horticulture. This includes analysing the effects of various marketing arrangements, sector wide issues (e.g. agriculture's contribution to GDP, efficiency gains, exchange rates, level of capital investment), international financial trends, farm management procedures (business and ownership structures - including Maori structures, level of diversification, farm debt and income, labour availability and employment opportunities), and determining the net impact of changes in rural communities on agriculture (e.g. impact of changes in government social policies on rural communities and agriculture including services available to rural communities).
- Determining the impact of the legislative environment on agriculture and horticulture. This includes analysing compliance costs associated with recent government interventions (e.g. RMA, HSE Act, ACC, tax legislation, producer boards, Companies and Cooperative Companies Acts, Financial Reporting Act), and the transfer of costs from central to regional government (e.g. pest control).
- Determining the effectiveness of government interventions implemented to benefit agriculture (e.g. technology/information transfer mechanisms).
- Developing social, economic and related biophysical indicators at each of the various levels (e.g. farm business, agri-business, regional, national) to provide reliable data for policy development.
8.1 ICD 400
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| Programme Goal: | To review the deregulation of producer boards in Israel, South Africa and one South American country (probably Chile). It will seek to identify why deregulation occurred, what happened, and the outcomes which resulted in order to facilitate research and policy analysis concerning New Zealand's producer boards. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Review of the reasons for deregulation | |
| Research Leader: | Dr Frank Scrimgeour |
Description:
The focus of this objective is to accurately discern what was driving the changes. Researchers will examine:
- which sectors were deregulated (and which were not);
- the political economy context of the decisions;
- the commercial performance of the sectors; and
- the economic performance of the sectors.
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Review of the process of deregulation | |
| Research Leader: | Mr Ron Sheppard |
Description:
The focus of this objective is to identify the nature of the changes and their sequencing. Researchers will examine:
- the political pathway of deregulation;
- the bureaucratic pathway of deregulation; and
- the commercial pathway of deregulation including the process of identifying and allocating asset ownership.
Objective 3
| Objective Title: | Review of the results of deregulation | |
| Research Leader: | Mr Ron Sheppard |
Description:
This objective focuses on the outcomes resulting from the changes. The researchers will examine the:
- new institutional structures, powers and ownership of assets;
- performance of the relevant sectors and the economy during transition;
- performance of the relevant sectors and the economy after adjustment; and
- performance of the new institutions.
8.2 ICD 401
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| Programme Goal: | To identify the economic and social impacts and agricultural change on rural New Zealand by developing regional profiles of change, and establishing the basis for more detailed analyses of linkages between agriculture and rural communities. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Scoping agricultural change and community impacts |
| Research Leader: | Ruth Schick |
Description:
This objective refines the project's direction in terms of MAF's key policy and operational priorities. The initial scoping phase will involve:
- identifying the key agricultural changes occurring in New Zealand (1986-1996) by consultation with MAF Policy staff on economic and social changes and data; and a review of existing literature and information sources;
- a discussion paper which identifies the key dimensions for assessing the impact of agricultural change on rural communities and refines the research design for Objectives 2 and 3.
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Regional profiles of change: Trend analysis | |
| Research Leader: | James Newell |
Description:
This objective profiles changes to regional agriculture and rural communities between 1986 and 1996, using readily available statistical sources. In two parts, the first stage is an exploratory data analysis, assembled into a quick discussion paper, using;
- Supermap III,
- MAF operational data,
- business directories; and
- the previous two studies of regional rural change.
The second stage entails;
- a custom household dataset analysing change to agricultural communities; and
- a recommendation of possible communities for the pilot case study.
MAF will be consulted on the final selection of pilot for Objective 3.
Objective 3
| Objective Title: | Case study of agriculture-community linkages | |
| Research Leader: | Ruth Liepins |
Description:
A pilot case study will identify the linkages between agricultural change and a specific local community. A combination of focus groups, business and household surveys will be used to determine the economic social interdependencies between the selected community and its local agricultural hinterland/economy.
8.3 ICD 402
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| Programme Goal: | To determine the direct and indirect costs at the farm level of complying with local and central government legislation. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Preliminary Canterbury case studies and formulation of questions for the October 1997 MRL survey | |
| Research Leader: | Peter Jarvis |
Description:
The researchers will determine the issues associated with the costs to farmers of complying with new legislation, and the direct and indirect costs of compliance. This will be done by conducting semi-structured interviews with 4-5 farmers, over a range of farm types in Canterbury. The researchers will then design a brief questionnaire (consisting of 5-6 questions) on farmer perceptions of the costs of compliance with government legislation, these questions will form part of the October 1997 MRL Survey.
Objective 2
| Objective Title: | Analysis of the survey of farmers on MRL database | |
| Research Leader: | Roger Wilkinson |
Description:
The researchers will analyse the MRL results from the questions relating to costs of compliance. Compliance costs associated with OSH, RMA, ACC, taxation and employment legislation will be considered, as well as costs associated with serving on voluntary bodies (such as school boards of trustees and health authorities) and other significant costs identified in the preliminary case studies. This survey will provide a national picture of the compliance costs faced by farmers, therefore allowing comparison with costs faced in other sectors.
Objective 3
| Objective Title: | Farm level costs | |
| Research Leader: | Peter Jarvis |
Description:
Quantify, for a minimum of 24 farms, the direct and indirect costs of compliance as well as costs associated with serving on voluntary bodies (e.g. school boards of trustees, health authorities). Assess impacts on farm profitability associated with compliance and the farm-level agricultural policy implications, by personal interviews with farmers.
8.4 ICD 403
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| Programme Goal: | To test proposed financial indicators of sustainable farming systems and assess how reliable they are as a measure of changes in the economic sustainability of the farm. To identify measures for monitoring progress toward short and long term goals. |
Objective 1
| Objective Title: | Case farm testing of the appropriateness and reliability of financial indicators of sustainable farming systems |
| Research Leader: | Nicola M Shadbolt |
Description:
Changes in the productive value of land will influence future farm size preferences and land values. Equity holder expectations from the business may not be met in the future if the productive ability of assets is not maintained. An analysis of current and future expectations for dividends by equity holders will be evaluated and compared with forecasts based on the deemed productive ability of the assets. Preference for investment in productive assets versus resource base assets will be further investigated.
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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