$200m pledged for agriculture research

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More than $200 million has been pledged for agricultural research by a New Zealand-led alliance of 20 countries, in an attempt to feed the world's hungry while reducing the industry's greenhouse gas emissions.

In committing $125 million over four years to the initiative, United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the world community could tackle the challenges of food security and climate change.

"You can not address one without addressing the other," he said at a press conference in Copenhagen on Wednesday, where United Nations climate talks are going on.

"It is important for us, as a global community, to make a commitment to reducing emissions, while at the same time recognising that today a billion people in the world are malnourished or food insecure – that is an unacceptably high number.

"We all ought to be committed to reducing that number and that will require us to use science to figure out how we might be able to increase productivity while reducing emissions from the production of food."

Danish minister of food, agriculture and fisheries, Eva Kjer Hansen, said her country had reduced greenhouse gas emission from farming by
23 per cent since 1990, while boosting food production by 16 per cent over the same period.

"I believe we have shown this is possible."

Canada committed $35 million over five years, while France said its 500 researchers who specialise in the field would be at the full disposal of the alliance.

New Zealand has committed $45 million over four years.

Associate Climate Change Minister Tim Groser said there was high interest from major developing countries not yet involved but he did not name them.

While no emissions reduction targets had been set, he said, but the matter could be raised at a meeting of the alliance's members in New Zealand in March.

"This is just the beginning."

Labour's climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel, who is in Copenhagen, said the Government's $45 million was much less money than what Labour had planned and National scrapped when it came to power.

"It will also mean that New Zealand as a whole will be poorer, because we lose the opportunity to sell or share emissions reduction technology in our singular area of expertise on our own terms."

A Sustainability Council of New Zealand report released in April said the country's agricultural emissions could be cut by more than 13 per cent using today's technology and at a profit to farmers.

Council executive director Simon Terry said nitrification inhibitors were developed by Kiwi companies but have achieved only a 5 per cent market penetration nationally.

"Why is New Zealand not placing any financial responsibility on farmers to give a financial incentive for these to be adopted?"

- © Fairfax NZ News