The opportunities and challenges of Maori agribusiness in hill farming

Abstract

Introduction This paper is a personal view of the opportunities and challenges that face Māori hill country farms over the next 20 years. This view is based on my observations and experiences working in the Māori agribusiness sector over the last 35 years. Māori agribusiness has come a long way in the last 50 years. The term "sleeping giant" is still relevant today. The last 30 years have seen the major land developments of the 1980s and 1990s consolidate, and many Māori land blocks came back under full Māori control. In the last 15 years there have been some major success stories across the Māori farming sector, highlighted by the revitalisation of the Ahuwhenua Awards competition in 2003.