Source: Radio New Zealand
Riddet Institute acting director Paul Moughan and Torere Macadamias general manager Vanessa Hayes discuss macadamias at the Riddet Institute Agrifood Summit in Wellington in February. Supplied / Riddet Institute
A partnership between Torere Macadamias Ltd and the Riddet Institute is aiming to grow the presence of Māori in agribusiness.
Torere Macadamias Ltd is an organic macadamia nursery, orchard and nut company based in the small settlement of Torere in eastern Bay of Plenty.
General manager Vanessa Hayes said the partnership began with a PhD research project by Faruk Ahmed, supervised by Riddet Institute scientist Ali Rashidinejad, to investigate macadamia husks, shells and leaves for bioactive compounds that could be used in functional food products or pharmaceutical supplements.
Hayes said her interest in the husks was sparked by an observation of some of the local animals.
“The cows on our neighbouring property kept pushing the fence over to eat the husks of our macadamia nuts when they were harvested and in bins. So I knew that they were highly attractive to the cows who just couldn’t stop eating them.”
The results of the research project to date had demonstrated that macadamia husks contain major phenolic compounds (a potent source of antioxidants) with considerable potential for future applications.
Hayes said the results had been so significant that Riddet were keen to continue the partnership for another five years.
There had also been interest in research on using macadamia shells for smoking food, in the same way that manuka wood chips would be used, but Hayes said macadamia shells had a “light smoke flavour” that did not overpower the food.
“There’s so many exciting things that we can use from our macadamia. So that’s the husks, the shells, the oil and the kernels. We haven’t got to the leaves yet.”
Macadamia honey muesli produced by Torere Macadamias Ltd. The company has formed a strategic partnership with the Riddet Institute to further advance innovations. Supplied/Hannah Jairam photography
Hayes said getting more Māori involvement in agribusiness had been another goal of hers for years.
“I wasn’t any different then just leasing out my block for maize to pay the rates. And that doesn’t give you any empowerment to use your own block for probably better food production that, you know, Māori are all good at growing food, or used to be. So taking back ownership of our land and utilising areas and just gradually building from there is what I’ve been trying to encourage our Māori landowners to do.”
The overall strategic plan was to involve Māori groups of growers under collectives. At this stage, they already had one set up, based at Waihau Bay and Raukokore, she said.
Through the partnership with Riddet she hoped to establish career pipelines for rangatahi Māori into agribusiness.
“So that’s the first step, is to basically train and get our Māori participants to learn about growing macadamias, get them qualified, make them feel confident in what they’re doing. We also, through the Riddet Institute, have a relationship with the Pūhoro STEMM Academy and they do more than just the agribusiness.”
The Riddet Institute is an internationally recognised Centre of Research Excellence in food science and related disciplines, hosted by Massey University in Palmerston North.
The Institute’s acting director, Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan, said the Riddet Institute was delighted to collaborate with Torere Macadamias Ltd to explore new frontiers in high-value food and ingredient development.
The partnership would promote local expertise and indigenous know-how, together with cutting-edge science, he said.
“This strategic partnership is a powerful example of how indigenous enterprise and advanced food science can work together to generate real economic and social impact.
“Macadamias present exciting opportunities for future foods and bioactive ingredients, and we are extremely proud to support the aspirations of Torere Macadamias Ltd and Māori capability building through research projects that connect young rangatahi to meaningful careers in food science.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
