Key themes that came out of the event

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Priority opportunities and actions

Strengthen local coordination

Participants identified an opportunity to build stronger connections between growers, iwi, food rescue organisations, community gardens, health organisations, educators, researchers, local government, and community groups.

Possible actions include:

• mapping existing initiatives, resources, and areas of need;
• creating regular opportunities for groups to connect and share knowledge;
• supporting joint funding applications and collective advocacy; and
• sharing equipment, infrastructure, volunteers, and expertise.

 

Support practical learning and knowledge sharing

Participants supported more opportunities for community-based learning, including:

open days with local growers;

• workshops on growing, soil health, harvesting, preserving, and cooking;
• mentoring between experienced growers and emerging community gardeners;
• intergenerational learning; and
• opportunities for tamariki to learn about the whakapapa and production of kai.

 

Improve connections between growers and communities

Participants identified opportunities to shorten the distance between producers and the people they feed through:

• direct producer-to-consumer relationships;
• community-supported agriculture;
• local food hubs and markets;
• stronger systems for redirecting surplus produce;
• increased visibility of locally grown kai; and
• support for growers wanting to supply local communities.

 

Advocate for supportive policy

Participants highlighted the need for policies that address the structural conditions shaping food systems.

Suggested areas for advocacy included:

• a regional food strategy;
• increased funding for growers and community food initiatives;
• support for regenerative transitions;
• action on food waste and plastics; and
• food-system governance that upholds Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tino rangatiratanga.

 

Continuing the conversation

Food sovereignty and the export economy

One of the most significant discussions concerned the relationship between food sovereignty and Aotearoa New Zealand’s export-oriented food system.

Participants consistently described food sovereignty as grounded in whakapapa, relationships with whenua, mana motuhake, community wellbeing, local decision-making, and the right of communities to determine how food is produced, shared, and accessed.

Another perspective suggested that strong local food systems and thriving food cultures could strengthen Aotearoa’s international reputation and provide social licence for high-value food exports. From this perspective, food sovereignty and export success could reinforce one another.

While both perspectives seek healthy food systems and thriving communities, they place emphasis in different places.

Food sovereignty emerged as a response to globalised food systems and argues that communities should have the authority to define their own food futures before responding to market demands. Local food systems are therefore valued because they strengthen community authority, cultural continuity, relationships, and wellbeing—not because they enhance export opportunities or national competitiveness.

Many participants were concerned that local food systems, mātauranga Māori, whakapapa, and relationships with whenua could be treated primarily as assets that add value to the export economy.

Participants emphasised that food sovereignty is about authority, tino rangatiratanga, access to land and resources, and the right of communities to determine their own food systems. It asks who makes decisions, whose knowledge is recognised, who benefits, and whose priorities shape the future.

Participants also highlighted the importance of respecting the integrity of mātauranga Māori. Indigenous knowledge should not be incorporated into strategies or commercial narratives without Māori authority and governance. Mātauranga Māori is grounded in whakapapa, whenua, tikanga, relationships, and responsibility, and Māori retain the right to determine how it is governed, shared, and applied.

The symposium did not seek to resolve this tension. Instead, it highlighted the need for continued discussion about what food sovereignty means in the Manawatū and how economic aspirations can be considered alongside Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Indigenous rights, environmental stewardship, and community wellbeing.

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Questions for ongoing reflection

 

The key question: Are local food systems being strengthened so communities can exercise authority over their food futures, or primarily to support the legitimacy and profitability of the existing export system?

 

The symposium raised several questions that warrant continued discussion.

Theme	Questions for ongoing reflection
Food insecurity and food sovereignty	How can we respond with dignity to immediate food insecurity while also changing the conditions that prevent communities from exercising authority over their food systems?
Food sovereignty and the export economy	Can food sovereignty and an export-focused food economy coexist without compromising mana motuhake and community self-determination?
Food as commodity or taonga	Is kai primarily an economic product, or a relationship grounded in whakapapa, whenua, wellbeing, and mana?
Mātauranga Māori and governance	What role should mātauranga Māori play in shaping future food systems, and who holds authority over how it is governed, shared, and applied?
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and leadership	How should Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tino rangatiratanga shape food-system governance and decision-making?
Profit and environmental stewardship	How can growers remain financially viable while restoring ecological health and caring for whenua?
Local resilience	Are larger, centralised food systems always more resilient than locally connected, community-based systems?
Knowledge into action	How do we move from shared ideas to coordinated and sustained action?
Shared responsibility	What roles can communities, iwi, growers, researchers, industry, and government each play in creating a more resilient and just food system?

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