Tanczos Nandor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Tanczos Nandor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:643;Page:12566] 
9.  
NANDOR TANCZOS (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Agriculture 
: Does he agree with the Hon Dr Michael Cullen’s recent statement to the House that “Organic farming uses a range of unnatural inputs that happen to be 19th century in their technology and that are not necessarily sustainable.”? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister of Agriculture) 
: 
 Yes I do. As with any land-based agricultural system organics requires a range of inputs to ensure production and to provide disease and pest control. Currently some of the technologies available to organic growers are potentially toxic and unsustainable if not managed well and applied with care—reliance on copper sprays for disease control is a particular example. The Government is working with the organic sector to develop new tools and technologies to deliver the growth potential of organics and to remove the risks associated with these technologies—for example the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Sustainable Farming Fund project is investigating the vapour biocontrol system as a replacement for copper sprays to control black spot in apples. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Is the Minister familiar with the United Nations report  
Organic Agriculture and Food Security 
 which states that conventional agriculture together with deforestation and rangeland burning are responsible for 30 percent of carbon dioxide and 90 percent of nitrous oxide emissions worldwide and that a worldwide shift to organic agriculture could fight world hunger; improve environmental quality economic efficiency and social equity; and at the same time tackle climate change? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I am sure every sphere of these arguments can take some consolation from reports like that. But I have to say to the member that there is clear evidence that a management approach rather than a specific production system is the key influence on sediment and nutrient runoff—for example into waterways. That is demonstrated in work completed by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology and the Sustainable Farming Fund in the funded project that compared sediment and nutrient runoff from hill-country sheep and beef from both organic and conventional farms. What this research effectively shows is that organic farming systems do not necessarily improve the quality of water runoff. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Is the Minister aware of growing evidence from the United States and New Zealand that soils may be as important as forests in storing carbon and that organic systems generally trap more carbon in soil than conventional systems because of their explicit focus on building healthy soils; if so how is the Government building this into its plans for carbon neutrality? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Yes the Government and its agencies are aware of that research. But I am advised that soil carbon can increase or decrease in organic agriculture depending on the management techniques used in the farming system. Soil carbon can increase under pasture in both organic and conventional systems—for example soil carbon in arable agriculture accumulates under zero or minimum tillage. However soil carbon is rapidly depleted once the land is cultivated in either organic or conventional agriculture. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: What is the Government doing to ensure that Landcorp which is New Zealand’s biggest farmer contributes to the Government’s vision of sustainability and carbon neutrality by at least piloting organic forms of production on some of its farms—and I note that it has no farms currently using organic production methods—particularly in the areas of sheep and beef farming where returns for conventional produce have been low over recent years and the price premium for organic produce particularly high which are trends likely to continue? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Yes the Government expects its agencies to operate on a sustainable basis. However the decision as to whether to farm organically is an operational decision under the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 and therefore it rests with the Landcorp board and management. However I am advised by Landcorp that it has considered commercial proposals that would use organic methods and it would assess any future such proposals based on their commercial and sustainability merits. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: In view of the reference to copper-based products can the Minister confirm that copper mining is often one of the most environmentally damaging forms of mining in the world and are any studies being done on the concept of “peak copper”? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I am not aware of any such studies but if the Minister of Finance would like to advise me of them I would be interested in reading them. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: I seek leave to table the Bio-Gro certification standards which indicate that the use of copper is restricted. 
Document not tabled.