Agribusiness Agenda 2013 distills the thoughts and ideas of our nation's agribusiness leaders from a series of round tables across the country. 

In Volume 1 we tackle the big issues facing our primary sector:

• Biosecurity – remains the top priority for industry leaders in 2013, particularly the concern around our preparedness for an incursion and the importation of PKE.

• Markets – consumers are demanding far more of our safe, high-quality food products – our agribusinesses need to select the markets they have the best potential to win in, be they in China or elsewhere.

• Community – understanding why we do primary sector production in New Zealand is critical to reaching policy settings which balance the needs of the wider community and our producers.

• Water – progress made in leveraging the economic benefits of water, but more needs to be done in capturing water to increase productivity and manage the environmental impact.

• Regulation – the sector is struggling to respond to inconsistent regional regulation, this is creating investment uncertainty and adding cost to primary sector.

• People – we continue to struggle recruiting talented people to fill opportunities, we need to take a proactive role in educating people about career opportunities in the sector.

• Meat sector – 2011/12 losses have intensified the discussion on the sector’s future – the time for collaboration is now.

• Sustainability – our production systems must be robust and auditable, the question is how to ensure everyone does the ‘right thing’.