Incentives for Change

We want to reward New Zealand’s primary producers for producing high-value products in sustainable ways.

Science Theme Leader

New Zealand earned $42 billion from primary sector exports in 2018, with overseas consumers paying about 6 times that amount for our country’s produce. How can we capture more of this value, and share it with our farmers and growers?

Incentives for Change researchers gained detailed understanding of what customers in different countries value about New Zealand produce, to support the design of production systems that measure and deliver these attributes. This will allow us to generate higher value for our exports.

To return a bigger share of this value to producers, Incentives for Change researchers investigated the factors behind value chains, to support the design of mechanisms to reward sustainable practices and ngā āhuatanga Māori (Māori characteristics) more highly.

This will create environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits for all New Zealanders, build trust with domestic and international consumers, and incentivise primary producers to adopt the most suitable land uses.

Our Goal

We use our land and water to produce products with high value to consumers that we capture and share with producers. New value chains are distributing more value from consumers to producers, and more agribusinesses are using metrics that reward land practices that increase environmental, social, cultural and economic wellbeing.