The official launch of the inaugural New Zealand Agri Investment Week yesterday provided three talented young speakers with the chance to present how they see the future of agri in New Zealand.
Year 13 St Paul’s Collegiate School student Greer Baldwin (17) was asked to speak at the event along with Hannah Goodwin (26) from FMG and Jack Keeys (20) from the University of Waikato.
Baldwin was quick to admit that she was nervous but says she was ready for the challenge.
“It’s was a bit daunting but you don’t get this kind of opportunity every day and I wanted to get my points across –agriculture is so important and we need to talk about how it is currently perceived by the youth of our country,” Baldwin said.
New Zealand Agri Investment Week Director, Lance Bickford, says allowing youth the chance to take centre stage was always something he hoped to do during the week.
“MPI has estimated we need 50,000 new people in the agri sector by 2025 to reach the government goals. In order to achieve this, we need to be investing in the talent of New Zealand and encouraging them to look to the agri sector for new exciting careers – so where better to start than with youth.”
The launch, which was officiated by the Minister for Primary Industries Hon. Nathan Guy, attracted 100 industry leaders, with high-level guests including academic experts, CEOs and chairs from leading agri companies and financial institutions such as ASB, Deloitte and FMG.
