Our Land and Water (Māori: Toitū te Whenua, Toiora te Wai) was one of New Zealand's eleven collaborative research programmes known as National Science Challenges. Running from 2016 to 2024, the focus of Our Land and Water (OLW) research was enhancing the productivity of New Zealand farms while improving the quality of land and water.
Establishment and governance The New Zealand Government agreed in August 2012 to fund National Science Challenges: large multi-year collaborative research programmes that would address critical issues in New Zealand's future. The funding criteria were set out in January 2014, with proposals assessed by a Science Board within the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE). After a planning phase in 2014, MBIE approved the Crown Research Institute AgResearch as the host institution. OLW was formally launched on 26 January 2016 by the Minister for Science and Innovation Steven Joyce; its inaugural director was Ken Taylor, and Chief Scientist was Richard McDowell. The Māori name of Our Land and Water, Toitū te Whenua (let the land's permanence remain intact) Toiora te Wai (let water abound), was an adaptation of the whakataukī (proverb) "Toitū te whenua, whatungarongaro te tangata" (land is permanent, while people come and go). OLW was hosted by AgResearch, with twelve other New Zealand research partners including the six other Crown Research Institutes (GNS Science, Scion, ESR, Landcare Research, NIWA, and Plant & Food Research), Lincoln Agritech, and four universities: the University of Auckland, Massey University, Lincoln University, and the University of Waikato. It was the largest of the Science Challenges at launch, with an initial budget of $96.9 million over 8 years, though it was second in funding to the Science for Technological Innovation Challenge with its $106 million budget.
In December 2015, after feedback from MBIE's Science Board, the OLW Directorate sought advice from Ray Collins at the University of Queensland on incorporating value chain management into the proposed research programme. At the time of receiving its second tranche of funding in November 2018, the Challenge had 31 research projects completed or in progress, and had produced 43 journal articles. By mid-2019, OLW was partnered with 16 research organisations, and was coordinating the work of around 160 scientists and 100 collaborating organisations. In March 2020, Ken Taylor retired and Jenny Webster-Brown was appointed director of OLW. The OLW Challenge formally ended in June 2024.
Research OLW's research focus was on three connected areas: Future Landscapes, encouraging a diverse 'mosaic' of land use that is both more resilient and has better soil and water quality; Incentives for Change, making higher-value exports that reward sustainable practices; and Pathways to Transition, speeding up the ability of farmers and growers to adopt new research and technology.
Future Landscapes
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