Irrigators' conference looking to future

Irrigation NZ chairwoman Nicky Hyslop views a water storage development on Bendigo Station. Photo / Sally Rae

A major irrigation conference in Central Otago this week will be ''future-focused'' and cover topics from new technologies to future food trends, Irrigation New Zealand chairwoman Nicky Hyslop says.

The three-day Irrigation New Zealand conference began with tours of Central Otago yesterday and includes a full day of presentations in Alexandra today.

More than 400 people from throughout the country were attending the conference, and Ms Hyslop said she was ''ecstatic'' to be bringing it to a region where so much was based on water.

Listen below: Jamie Mackay interviews Nicky Hyslop on the irrigation conference

Today's conference schedule will begin with presentations on Central Otago's gold mining and irrigation story, and continue with a session on ''a regional perspective on the role of user groups and collectives for successful water management''.

Other presentations will talk about ''the Kyeburn story'' and ''the Manuherikia story'', both catchments tasked with replacing deemed permits with new consents to manage water allocations.

This afternoon a panel of six industry and community experts will discuss ''Irrigation in 2025 - Developing a vision for the irrigation sector'', and a later presentation will focus on how New Zealand stacks up internationally in the irrigation sector.

Tomorrow the conference will end with another day of presentations and workshops, including a speech about ''Irrigation in 2025: A strategy for the irrigation sector'' from Irrigation New Zealand chief executive Andrew Curtis, and a round-table discussion following an update on individual irrigation schemes.

-Additional reporting by Sally Rae