The Government is providing an initial $4 million to help farmers, growers, whenua Māori owners and rural communities mobilise and co-ordinate recovery efforts from Cyclone Gabrielle. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the breadth of this storm’s impact is unprecedented with milk collection disrupted, orchards inundated and livestock losses across much of the North Island. It is a dynamic situation and we are responding accordingly to help the rural sector to respond with this initial funding of $4 million…. In what will be a long recovery process. Damien O’Connor says this this the biggest single event he has seen farmers face during his time as Minister. With the damage to crops MPI is activating its national feed working group to help manage feed supplies to devastated areas.
Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard says the government’s $4 million to help farmers, growers and rural communities cyclone recovery efforts is a significant acknowledgement of the breadth of Cyclone Gabrielle’s destruction. He says it is unprecedented and that this funding is only an initial response.
