WELLINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- A series of innovative farming projects sitting on the sidelines, such as productive riparian planting and flies as pollinators, will now go ahead thanks to a funding boost to the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor said on Monday.
These projects, spanning sectors from meat and wool to forestry and aquaculture, are led by those on the front-line and provide further opportunities for grassroots-up solutions to some of New Zealand's most pressing issues such as climate change, pest and disease management, water quality, and food production and safety, the minister said.
O'Connor announced the extra SFF projects at the Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final in Invercargill of the South Island.
A massive oversubscription to the SFF in recent years was relieved earlier this year by Budget 2018's 15 million NZ dollars (10.27 million U.S. dollars) boost over four years. The 15 new SFF projects add to the 28 already confirmed from the 2017 funding round, O'Connor said.
Since 2000, the SFF has supported more than 1,000 primary sector projects, which provide economic, environmental and social benefits to all New Zealanders, he said.
The government is working alongside farmers in helping to grow a "sustainable, modern, productive and profitable primary sector," O'Connor said.
"A key part of all SFF projects is sharing the knowledge with the wider community to boost the uptake of sustainable practices," he added.