Angus Kebbell finds that the core issues of farming worldwide can resonate here, from on-farm practices, to sector planning, to trade challenges

Every now and then a global conversation reminds us just how interconnected food systems have become, and how much New Zealand can learn from countries that are facing very different pressures yet working toward the same goal of strengthening farming communities and improving long term resilience.

Listening to Brian Thompson and Michelle Tang from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the themes of school nutrition, agroecology, rural development and smallholder empowerment feel surprisingly familiar even though the scale of the challenges in Brazil, India and other developing regions is vastly different from what we face here.

The common thread is that healthy food systems never emerge by accident. They are built through deliberate choices that link farmers, consumers and public institutions in a way that lifts everyone.

The story opens with a question that immediately cuts through the noise of policy debates we have here at home. The presenters ask how food systems can deliver safe, nutritious and sustainable food for everyone and for New Zealand farmers that question sits at the heart of our export story.

Our reputation for safe and sustainable production is what underpins market access, farmgate returns and international confidence, yet we often forget that other countries are still working to secure the basics and are using their school systems, cooperatives and rural networks to create better outcomes for the next generation.

Brazil’s school meals programme is a powerful example of what it looks like when public institutions genuinely support local farmers. The country requires 35 percent of school meal ingredients to be sourced locally, with at least 30 percent grown using agroecological methods and the impact has been transformative. As one speaker explains, this policy has helped small farmers boost their income by more than 100 percent, proving that large scale procurement when done well, can stabilise rural incomes and strengthen local value chains. New Zealand exports most of what we grow, but there is still room for our own public agencies and schools to think more creatively about local procurement and the social value that flows from it.

IFAD’s representative in Brazil highlights the importance of policy certainty and the foundations that support food systems, saying “food systems transformation and local value chains are very complex” and that nothing works without water infrastructure, reliable transport, sound procurement rules and long term development plans. It is a message that echoes strongly here, where farmers continue to call for stable policy settings after years of rapid regulatory change. When rules shift too often, innovation slows and confidence fades and regardless of whether we are talking about emissions policy, freshwater reform or the wool industry, New Zealand farmers need the same certainty that IFAD promotes overseas.

Much of the conversation focuses on schools, not only as places where children are fed but as anchors for rural communities. IFAD supports school gardens, training for cooks and teachers and farmer cooperatives that supply meal ingredients. One interviewee notes that “school feeding is very much part of a community effort”, involving parents, teachers and farmers working together to improve children’s nutrition. Rural New Zealand understands that instinctively. Community resilience has always been built around schools, sports clubs, catchment groups and local events and when these institutions thrive, farms and families thrive alongside them.

The discussion on agroecology offers another set of lessons. Agroecology is sometimes misrepresented as a return to low productivity farming, but the examples shared in the podcast show something quite different. In India tribal women are using biogas systems to create clean cooking fuel, while turning the leftover slurry into high value biofertiliser through a cooperative processing plant. As one speaker says, “they are reducing their waste, supporting the transition to organic fertiliser and making money out of it,” demonstrating how simple technologies can lift incomes, improve soil health and reduce environmental impact at the same time. The fact that this cooperative is entirely led by women adds another layer of social benefit and confidence building, which mirrors the increasing leadership we see from women across New Zealand’s food and fibre sector.

The role of markets comes through strongly. Agroecological practices only scale when farmers can earn a fair return and as one expert puts it, “if there is a business case people will adopt these practices, if there is no money in it they will be abandoned.” New Zealand knows that reality well. Regenerative farming, alternative land uses and new value chain models only gain traction when customers recognise value. Our challenge is to ensure that any shift toward diversified systems, enhanced soil health or reduced inputs is matched by market recognition, not extra cost to farmers.

There are challenges too. Some agroecological methods require more manual labour, especially when replacing chemicals with hand weeding and women often carry that extra burden. The labour shortages that dominate our own rural economy highlight the need for any change in production systems to be realistic about the time and people required. The podcast guests emphasise the importance of training, gender equity and technology to reduce drudgery and ensure that improvements in environmental outcomes do not come at the cost of wellbeing.

Toward the end of the episode, FAO leader Corina Hawkes speaks with real honesty about the frustration of fragmented efforts across global food systems. She worries about whether her work is having enough impact, and whether systems-level challenges are being tackled effectively. “What we can and should do,” she says, “is connect existing efforts throughout agri food systems to achieve these interconnected goals at scale.” It is a sentiment that New Zealand farmers will understand all too well, as they navigate overlapping compliance regimes, fragmented policy processes and a lack of coordination between government agencies. A more joined up approach would benefit both farmers and the environment.

What becomes clear throughout is that despite vast differences in context, the fundamentals of resilient food systems are remarkably consistent. Strong policy foundations, stable institutions, trusted local leadership, community ownership, good infrastructure and markets that reward value rather than volume all matter, whether you are farming beef cattle in New Zealand or running a cooperative in rural India. The stories from Brazil and India show what is possible when farmers are treated as partners in development rather than passive recipients of policy.

New Zealand’s farming sector remains one of the most capable and efficient in the world, yet global conversations like these remind us that we are part of a much bigger picture and that innovation does not only come from high tech countries. Sometimes it comes from the determination of rural women in remote communities who find a way to turn waste into value, or from a national school meal programme that transforms a child’s diet while strengthening a farmer’s income.

If there is a single lesson we can take from these global examples, it is that good food systems start with strong communities and strong communities start with farmers who are given the tools, trust and stability to succeed. New Zealand has all the ingredients to remain a world leader in sustainable food production. The challenge and the opportunity lie in strengthening the links between farmers, families and institutions so that everyone benefits from the power of good food.

Have a listen to the podcast to hear the full story.

Angus Kebbell is a producer at The Weekly Hotwire. You can contact him here.