In partnership with Westpac New Zealand, the AERU (lead author Professor Anita Wreford) produced research assessing the risks and opportunities presented by climate change to New Zealand agribusiness, as well as the sector's vulnerabilities and potential responses.

Unlocking Export Prosperity is delivering new knowledge on how local enterprises can achieve higher returns by ensuring global consumers understand the distinctive qualities of the physical, credence and cultural attributes of agri-food products that are Made in New Zealand.

Following on from the successful Integrating Value Chains programme, this research is testing whether the key characteristics identified in that programme as important for a successful value chain have validity for designing a new value chain for a New Zealand land-based export product.

Integrating Value Chains tested whether New Zealand’s world-renowned reputation for food and fibre would allow our producers and processors to capture higher returns for agri-food exports.

Our land in New Zealand is used in many different ways. As our population grows and needs change, land is being used for different purposes. Our Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) Framework has been developed to enable people to explore different land use scenarios and see a broad assessment of the economic, environmental and social impacts.

In 2023, the AERU was commissioned by the New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre (NZFSSRC) to make an independent estimate of the value of the Centre to New Zealand. Case studies examined the value of the Centre by industry - namely dairy, kiwifruit, and poultry. The total conservative estimate based on case studies of the above industries was NZ$164 million per year - a significant return on the government’s NZ$2.5 million investment.

Since 2022, the AERU has been involved in a series of surveys aimed at measuring farmer participation in farm certification schemes.

Maximising Export Returns (MER) was a three-year project, funded by MBIE, examining international consumer preferences towards key food and beverage product attributes in key markets for New Zealand's food and beverage trade.

The Primary Sector Council commissioned the AERU to prepare a situational analysis that provided a global perspective and a national context for developing a refreshed vision for food and fibre sector at a time of unprecedented change.

In relation to the Canterbury Regional Economic Development Strategy, the AERU has prepared a report on the state of the Food and Fibre sector of New Zealand that identified key factors that characterise successful value chains.

This project documented how important the land based sector is to New Zealand and offered a vision for its future. AGMARDT, ANZCO Foods, Beef and Lamb New Zealand, Fonterra and Zespri funded the research in 2016. It showed how industry‐led initiatives and private‐public partnerships is building on the sector’s historical successes for ongoing economic prosperity into the future.

The AERU has contributed to Beef+Lamb’s New Zealand origin brand, Taste Pure Nature, through our work in the Integrating Value Chains programme (funded by the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge).