Vegetable Industry Showcase at Parliament hits the mark

More than 100 attended the inaugural Vegetable Industry Showcase last night in the Grand Hall at Parliament in Wellington.

It was grand to see MPs from all sides of the House attend to support the New Zealand vegetable industry. Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg outlined the Government's support for vegetable growers. She is hopeful of further announcements in the coming weeks.

Vegetables NZ Chair, John Murphy talked about the need for vegetable growing to become a permitted activity (with a freshwater farm plan) within the Government's new resource management legislation, if the vegetable industry is to thrive again.

John also talked about falling vegetable consumption and the need for a government-industry approach, to change people's perceptions and get vegetables back on the table, in the spirit of the Add One More Vegetable initiative.

To round out the showcase, a video was played highlighting the passion of those that grow, as well as the challenges that all growers face.

Click here to watch the video. 

The event was put on by Onions NZ, Potatoes New Zealand, Process Vegetables NZ and TomatoesNZ, as well as Vegetables NZ.