Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa CEO Grant Huwyler fronts land that will become a strawberry farm. Photo / Bevan Conley
Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa CEO Grant Huwyler fronts land that will become a strawberry farm. Photo / Bevan Conley
The asset-holding arm of Rangitīkei iwi Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa plans to develop a 5ha strawberry farm on pine forest land near Whanganui Prison.
A Provincial Growth Fund grant of $894,636 and loan of $1.62 million were this week announced as part of $18.8m given to further Māori development projects and boost jobs in the Covid-19 reset.
Other projects nationally included beef, kiwifruit and sheep milk farming, forestry and environmental tourism.
The Harakeke Strawberry Farm project will take place on a 370ha block of flatter land near Whanganui Prison. It is expected to create 25 jobs in its first year, and up to 36 jobs by year three, the Government statement said.
The funding goes to Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa Developments, the tribe's asset holding company. Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa had its Treaty of Waitangi settlement in 2010, and its asset now has a market value of $52m, chief executive officer Grant Huwyler said.
The Government contribution will be co-invested with iwi money to create the farm over the next three years, Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa Developments chairwoman Tracey Hook said.
In its Treaty settlement Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa got 6500ha of the land in Harakeke Forest. Trees on the land were owned by forestry company Ernslaw One, which leased the land from the iwi.
Returns on the land were only 2.9 per cent, Te Rūnanga o Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa chairman Pahia Turia said in 2013. The iwi was looking for a more profitable use for the asset and soil tests showed 500ha was suitable for other uses.
Some mature pine forest was logged, and immature eight-year-old pines in what was then Harakeke Mountain Bike Park were sprayed. It killed them, and prevented the iwi having to pay for lost carbon storage later.
The land was once Harakeke Mountain Bike Park. Photo / File
In 2016 Ngā Wairiki-Ngāti Apa considered doing a dairy development on the land with Landcorp (now Pāmu) - but its dairy conversions had become unpopular and this one didn't proceed.
The Provincial Growth Fund money will now be put toward land preparation, infrastructure and tunnel house construction for the strawberry farm, Huwyler said. Development will begin in spring, after final planning and contracting.
The berries will be grown in a medium, using irrigation from a bore. A shed will be needed to process them.
Pine forest has been cleared, and the land will need drainage and other preparation. Photo / Bevan Conley
The land will have to be drained, and one area will become a wetland. If it is successful the farm could grow to 20ha, Huwyler said. Five hectares is about the minimum size for a commercial berry farm.
The iwi has been getting advice from marketing company VF Direct/Freshmax, and the berries will be mainly for export.
Finding the right people to lead the start-up will be one of the first tasks.
The development will provide a further diversification of the iwi's asset holdings, and it will create jobs in the district, Hook said.
"This is a new business start-up for the iwi, and our financial modelling indicates that a well-run strawberry farm will contribute significant growth and revenue to the iwi."
Turia was happy the asset-holding company had secured Government resources, and looked forward to seeing the farm come to fruition.
