The importance of agribusiness
Investment Monitor interviewed Jay Whitehead about the role and importance of agribusiness.
Credit: Nandhu Kumar/Unsplash
“Explaining the importance of agribusinesses is like explaining the importance of water,” states Jay Whitehead of consultancy the AgriBusiness Group.
Jay Whitehead was interviewed by Investment Monitor to talk about the significance of agribusiness for the world and for New Zealand in particular. The article explains the critical role of the food production chain and the global challenges it faces, from a growing global population to increased risk due to disasters. Building sustainable agribusinesses that assure livelihood and enhancing the sector’s resilience against climate change are the most pressing issues for agribusinesses.
Read the full article here
A recently published white paper proposes a framework to better understand the potential of regenerative farming for New Zealand. What are the key priority research areas and how do we undertake research that encourages system change?
Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge of our time. Global warming has already significant ecological impacts with major social and economic consequences. Primary sectors in New Zealand are increasingly looking at how climate change could affects them. The AgriBusiness Group has been helping sectors to understand their climate change impacts through measuring emissions, with the kiwifruit industry being the latest example.
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Māori are experiencing a significant decline in home ownership. Jay Whitehead used the data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study cohort to determine the variables that influence home ownership.
The AgriBusiness Group consultants have adapted the knowledge gained from fifteen years of research into developing a sustainability assessment tool that assists producers to demonstrate their system operates sustainably and so meets the provenance requirements of our high-value customers.
Many sustainability initiatives are failing to maximise value to the business, the environment, and society that could be produced. A robust analysis of strategic priorities using the latest scientific and market data can significantly enhance the impact of a business’s sustainability actions.
The advancement of technology in corporate sustainability assessment and reporting has led to a new wave of business sustainability and opened up innovative ideas and new opportunities to strategic decision-making and communication.
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The New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard Project was concluded last year. Read our final report to learn about our insights into sustainability assessment and reporting.
Jay Whitehead is researching how the societal concern in biodiversity issues is changing over time. A better understanding of these trends will help governments and businesses to respond more quickly to society’s needs and formulate future-oriented policy.