MEDIA RELEASE - 19 OCTOBER 2009 Agriculture ITO Launches Futures Research Agriculture ITO has launched a Futures Research project that will identify key trends and drivers in New Zealand's water and agriculture industries over the next 20 years. Chief Executive Kevin Bryant said the project is an exciting step forward for the organisation and will focus on what is likely to happen over the medium to long term. "We need to be well positioned to help guide the future for our industries.  The research will inform all areas of our business - strategy, programmes, how we approach our customers and channels to market. It focuses on trends both in New Zealand and internationally. Mr Bryant said it was vital for a training organisation to look at the broader trends affecting the industry. "The big issues coming over the horizon will certainly drive the role we can play in helping to provide solutions for the challenges facing the industry. Traditionally, training has been viewed narrowly, but now there is an appreciation that developing people lies at the heart of our industry's productivity." The Futures Research project began earlier this year and so far two quarterly reports have been issued. Project champion Fred Hardy said a wide range of issues have been identified in the first two reports, some of them quite surprising.  Topics include: Animals as pharmaceutical factories Food security in difficult times Likely regulatory environments affecting exports Protecting our clean, green, isolated image Preserving our water wealth The Post Global Financial Crash world The New Colonialism - foreign direct investment The changing face of our rural landscape Where have all the farmers gone? Mr Hardy said that while the horizon scanning stretches out fifty years or so, issues are identified that might require action from Agriculture ITO over the next few years. "For example, before long I think we are going to see a greater emphasis on programmes designed to give comfort to the people who consume our products overseas. They will want to know where food comes from, how it's been treated and that all parts of the process are quality assured.Training plays a big role in being able to provide that assurance." The Future Research project involves two groups - "scanners" and "weavers."  The scanners scan the local and global environment, identifying ideas and trends that might impact on the industry over the next 10 to 20 years. A separate group, "the weavers", has the job of analysing the material and exploring several themes in more depth.  Their findings are written up in a quarterly report. Mr Bryant said Agriculture ITO was looking for five or six organisations to be partners in the Future Research project. Back to Press Releases