Horticulture NZ wants the Government to develop a national food policy statement within the Resource Management Act to recognise the country's "elite" fruit and vegetable growing areas.
A Horticulture NZ-commissioned report released in Parliament yesterday said there could be a big economic hit to Auckland if the value of fruit and vegetable production in prime areas in and around Pukekohe is not recognised.
While the report focused on Pukekohe, Horticulture NZ chief executive Mike Chapman said many other good growing areas around the country were facing similar issues such as competition for land from urban sprawl.
"We have got to spread out where we grow — as insurance against adverse weather events — to allow other parts of the country to up the slack when bad weather hits part of the country," Chapman told the Herald.
Chapman said Pukekohe was a proxy for other parts of the country, which also ran the risk of being over-run by housing development as the population continues to increase.