Research and development
Investment
Potatoes New Zealand invests heavily in research and development with its research partner, Plant & Food Research (a Crown Research Institution, formerly known as Crop and Food). Around $280,000 of Potatoes New Zealand's budget a year is raised through levies and allocated to research.
The potato industry also attracts significant government funding (around $700,000 each year) through FRST (the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology). This is targeted at breeding and variety trials.
Potatoes New Zealand also has an agreement with Plant & Food Research where it receives 10% in royalties on returns from the sale of cultivars from the breeding programme the two organisations share. This money is put back into research and development, primarily targeted at the breeding programme.
Potato Industry Development
Here's a snapshot of what the potato industry looked like in 1985. This booklet was produced by the Potato Research Advisory Committee, which was a group of industry representatives whose job it was to advise the Minister of Science. This report was prepared as a briefing for the Minister and to "provide a basis for discussion within the industry and a blueprint on which industry and research planning can be based."
