Federated Farmers is fully behind the new government's goal of boosting the nation's spending on research and development to two per cent of GDP by 2027.
"It doesn't matter to us whether that's achieved by the re-introduction of an R&D tax credit, the previous government's grants schemes or a combination of methods," Federated Farmers science spokesperson Guy Wigley said.
"What's important is that it's genuine and useful research and development that drives progress and innovation and boosts New Zealand's ability to earn a living in the world."
Addressing the Science New Zealand 2017 Conference in Wellington this morning, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Megan Woods acknowledged that sustained increases in government investment would be important to reach the two per cent target.
"For public research and science this will mean investing across different research horizons from blue skies through to developmental research," she said.
