AgResearch today commenced promotion of its visionary ‘2020 Science’ strategy, outlining ways to keep New Zealand prosperous for the next 14 years to 2020 and beyond.

 

AgResearch Chief Science Strategist, Dr Stephen Goldson, said the vision, which incorporates ‘Five Big Ideas’ for the pastoral sector and biotechnology industries, was “realistically ambitious”.

 

Dr Goldson will lead a series of seminars at all five AgResearch campuses this week to launch the implementation of the ‘2020 Science’ strategy.  More than 1500 key stakeholders and partners have also been targeted with a brochure and DVD outlining the aims of ‘2020 Science’ and the reasons behind the strategy.

Dr Goldson said AgResearch would welcome any feedback on the material to ensure the understanding and support of its stakeholders and partners.

 

The strategy includes ways forward for the dairy farm and dairy industry, the future of the meat and fibre industries, biosecurity, integrating agriculture with the environment and the wider community, and using knowledge and technologies in non-pastoral areas.

 

“The 2020 Science Strategy focuses on profitable solutions for problems such as the fact New Zealand is no longer the world's lowest cost dairy producing country. Resources are limited and everyone else has been catching up fast.

 

“Within our 'Five Big Ideas’ we talk about changes, which in simple terms mean reducing resource input while increasing output," Dr Goldson said.

 

He said while the name ‘2020 Science’ and some of the initiatives contained within it are new the work itself was not.

 

“It’s about transparently promoting to our pastoral colleagues the issues that we believe we should be tackling if New Zealand is to prosper.

 

 “What you are seeing is AgResearch giving a name to an anticipated fifteen year slice of research that builds on over 100 years of preceding effort. It is this erstwhile effort that has assisted in getting New Zealand to where it is now.”

 

Dr Goldson added that, building on that tradition, ‘2020 Science’ would allow AgResearch to mark the way forward.

 

“It must be emphasised that ‘2020 Science’ is AgResearch’s response to the entire pastoral sector’s needs arising from that fact. But the strategy is not just about AgResearch, and we certainly can’t achieve this alone. It is about AgResearch, as part of the pastoral sector, being at the leading edge of what is important to New Zealand,” Dr Goldson said.

 

“It also highlights the fact that Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) are uniquely placed to carry out the necessary long-term work. CRIs like AgResearch must retain the means to attract and retain scientists, to protect and build knowledge databases, to build relationships with other researchers in related fields, to maintain the vision needed to keep projects on track and to link to universities and technical institutes to develop relevant postgraduate research and provide robust career paths for students.

 

 “To play our part in the future of the pastoral sector and prosperity of New Zealand, we need to build the capability of AgResearch. ‘2020 Science’ is much more than AgResearch’s strategic plan. It is an evolving strategy that will help deliver for the future what was delivered to today’s pastoral sector by New Zealand’s agricultural innovators over the last 100 years.”

 

 

AgResearch 2020 Science Brochure: http://www.agresearch.co.nz/2020/2020.pdf