Central Hawke’s Bay gains funding to expand commercial seed growing

Simon White of Kaikora Seeds in Otāne says commercial seed production has big environmental benefits.

A seed dryer that can dry four different crops at one time is to be installed in Central Hawke’s Bay, bringing the opportunity to scale up commercial seed production in the district.

Kānoa, the Government’s Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, will contribute $650,000 to support the construction, purchase and installation of the seed dryer, funding which will be received by the Central Hawke’s Bay District Council on behalf of Kaikora Enterprises, a seed company based in Otāne.

The investment by Kānoa will include funding for the council to support the project, ensuring the district and wider region benefit from the facility.

Simon White of Kaikora Enterprises says the new infrastructure will allow the harvesting of four different crops within a couple of days and eliminate the risk of losing a crop to moisture. This will allow farmers more control over when they harvest for optimal germination and ensure long shelf life of the dried seeds.

The specialist infrastructure will support the production of vegetable and cereal crop seeds destined for Asian and European markets.

Simon says, “The key thing for me is being part of a wider group of farmers and growers diversifying into high-value cropping across Central Hawke’s Bay, where we have an excellent climate and a low risk of contamination by wild-growing species.

“Seed growing has big environmental benefits too. Besides the big factor of water efficiency, many crops - hemp for example - are effective sequesters of carbon,” he says.

Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Alex Walker says the investment by Kānoa fits well with Central Hawke’s Bay’s economic vision of diverse, high-value land use.

“This is really exciting for Central Hawke’s Bay. For some years now we’ve been exploring ways to encourage the move into high-value crops and identify opportunities for land diversification.

“Growing seed for crops is a sustainable use of the region’s rich soils. Seed crops thrive on Hawke’s Bay sunshine, requiring minimal water and producing few emissions.

“We have a nationally significant concentration of highly productive soils that present a huge opportunity for food production in new ways. We look forward to working with Kaikora Enterprises to develop and share this technology with the wider district.”

Kānoa Hawke’s Bay principal adviser Cameron Osmond says, “While commercial seed production is not new to the region, this equipment provides an ongoing local solution so activity can really scale up.

“Businesses that decide to get into commercial seed growing will enjoy an alternative revenue source from their land, so it’s a great outcome.”

Having a facility locally also means growers will have a closer option for drying their seeds, rather than having to ship their seeds to other parts of New Zealand for drying.

A memorandum of understanding with Kaikora will open the way for other farmers in the district to diversify into the seed crop market, where there is international demand for New Zealand crops.