Summerfruit NZ's interim chief executive, Richard Palmer, reviews two recent government launches.
International Year of Plant Health
Last night I joined leaders from across the agriculture sector at the New Zealand launch of #IYPH2020, the International Year of Plant Health, hosted by Minister O’Connor at Parliament. The focus of the evening was on the importance of plant health to our native ecosystems and our economic fortunes. Minister O’Connor mentioned the tourism sector as just one example of the non-agriculture sectors that depend upon our native flora as the principal drawcard for tourists. 
HortNZ’s CEO, Mike Chapman, talked about the necessity of plant health to maintain our environmental and societal wellbeing – through our healthy environment and the food that we depend upon. #IYPH2020 represents an opportunity to bridge some of the divide of New Zealand society and come together in recognition of the crucial importance of healthy plants, and the human health, economic, and societal benefits that result when we all play our part in maintaining New Zealand’s plant health.
R&D Tax Incentive
Introduced last year, the R&D Tax Incentive is the government’s billion-dollar flagship programme to help businesses offset the cost of research and development in New Zealand. Last week the government launched the online R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI) hub (https://www.rdti.govt.nz/) to help businesses understand the benefits of undertaking R&D and to encourage more businesses to invest in it.
The RDTI offers businesses a 15% income tax credit for eligible R&D up to the value of $120m, with a minimum threshold of $50k per year. To be eligible, the R&D must be:
- undertaken in New Zealand,
- be developing a new or improved product, service or process, and/or
- new knowledge,
- trying to resolve a scientific or technological uncertainty in a systematic manner.