View Our Strategy Document 2019 – 2024
August 30, 2024
Enhancing Assurance Schemes
The role of assurance in enhancing social licence to operate
Project Details Ngā taipitopito
Project Status:
CompletedChallenge funding:
$129,790Research duration:
July 2022 - March 2023Collaborators Ngā haumi
Synlait | The AgriBusiness Group | University Of Canterbury
What are we doing?E aha ana mātou?
Farm certification schemes are an important way to build social licence to operate, address market and regulatory concerns, provide greater transparency, and incorporate cultural values into practices.
Many of these assurance systems and other monitoring mechanisms are well established – but are being challenged by increasing demands of urban communities for transparency in farming and rapid development of technology driven monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
This project will develop recommendations to enhance assurance programmes, including how they can be used more effectively to build trust between farmers and communities. The work will also consider the need for continuous improvement, and how Māori perspectives, insights and cultural attributes could be incorporated into assurance processes.
How can the research be used? Ka pēhea e whai take ai te rangahau?
- This project will produce a white paper outlining a pathway to enhance assurance systems to increase their potential to build and maintain social licence to operate in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Tailored recommendations will be developed for the enhancement of the Synlait Lead with Pride assurance programme, and MFE/MPI Freshwater Farm Plans, providing direct benefits to the operation and impact of these programmes.
- The research will also provide tailored recommendations for Māori enterprises and assurance providers that are guided by tauutuutu ethics in terms of transparent monitoring reporting, across taiao, oranga, and whai rawa dimensions.
- Insights from the research will support the building of trust between farmers and communities, and clarify possible complementary strategies to build social licence to operate, such as farm open days and community-supported agriculture.
Related research updates Ngā pānui mō te rangahau nei
Research team Te hunga i whai wāhi mai
Project Co-Lead
Pavel Castka
University of Canterbury
Project Co-Lead
Jon Manhire
The Agribusiness Group
Te Ao Māori Lead
John Reid
University of Canterbury / Earth Quotient
Corey Ruha
Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa, Raukawa
Independent researcher
Tools & resources Ngā utauta me ngā rauemi
Summary
Consumers want NZ farmers to comply with regulations – better monitoring and transparency would help to build trust
Assurance systems such as freshwater monitoring are a cornerstone of New Zealand’s agribusiness. But these systems face growing challenges. Urban communities demand higher transparency and…
Summary
Primary Industry Trade at Risk Unless Assurance is Tightened
Two recently published reports look at the gap between Aotearoa’s assurance schemes for the primary sector and our trade potential. A new report, EU Green Deal:…
Journal Article
Enhancing trust in farm assurance systems: a multistakeholder perspective
Farm assurance systems provide an infrastructure (standards and certification services) to ensure food safety, animal welfare and environmentally responsible practices at farms. Yet, farm assurance…
Technical Report
Enhancing Farm Assurance – A White Paper
Assurance systems are one of the cornerstones of the New Zealand economy and agribusinesses – ensuring compliance with regulations, enabling international trade, ensuring safety of…
In the media Mai i te ao pāpaho
The Conversation, 13 July 2023
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