At FAR we believe in strong research collaborations within New Zealand and internationally. Long standing relationships with public and private sector providers have been developed as a means of efficiently delivering the best quality science to farmers.
There are several models under which FAR operates these collaborations, some of which are multi-sector and involve government funding such as the MBIE funded Herbicide Resistance and MfE funded Protecting Our Groundwater programmes. Other examples of private-public collaborations are programmes under the MPI Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund. These can be short 1-2 year projects or longer 5 year programmes, often at the more applied end of research, typically involving more than one party and often co-funded by partners interested in one or more aspects of the project at a regional or national level. An example of this is the 'A Lighter Touch' programme which is a HortNZ led, 7 year programme focussed on the development of agroecological crop protection practices for the horticulture, vegetable and arable sectors.
FAR has also entered into collaborative ventures with industry bodies in New Zealand to support collaborative research outcomes. The
Seed Industry Research Centre (SIRC) is a partnership between FAR, seed industry bodies, seed companies and research agencies focused on delivering quality seed crop research and capability development to underpin New Zealand's growing seed industry.
Internationally, FAR has built strong research links with other cropping related organisations such as
AHDB and NIAB-TAG in the UK and GRDC in Australia, as well as Universities such as Oregon State University in the US and other research institutes across the world. The aim of these collaborations is to share knowledge and expertise that will benefit both countries and support the sustainability and resilience of arable cropping.
