Dirk Wallace1, Alan Kale2, Diana Mathers3, Elliot Calendar4, Melanie Briant4
1 Senior Researcher, FAR,
2 ELAK Consultants Ltd,
3 DJ Communications,
4 EC Consulting Ltd
The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) funded by MPI and Vegetable Research & Innovation, initiated a project in September 2023 to document and capture growers’ recovery experiences from Cyclone Gabrielle, offering insights for future adverse events.
What Was Done:
The project established 46 case study sites across 9 clusters in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne/Tolaga Bay, encompassing diverse locations, crop types, and grower approaches. Sites included varying damage scenarios which will be discussed:.
What Was Learned:
- Wind, water and sediment
The event produced various impacts across the North Island. The effect of wind, water and sediment deposition will be discussed separately. Where possible, crops that were still able to be harvested where to produce some cashflow. There was little guidance on this, as for many crops that remained the yields were low, machinery wear was high and stress load on those harvesting was significant. - Debris
Debris deposition was a significant challenge. Removal of debris was step one for many, as this had to be achieved before harvest could be considered. - Impact assessment
Initial assessment of economic impact was challenging and required regional support. Land owners understood the damage they would have to deal with, but moving this information through to government officials could be simplified in the future. - Economic cost
At its simplest there were three components to on farm economic cost of this event.
1) Crop loss, this may have been total or partial,
2) Remediation cost,
3) Crop loss from following season, this may be complete, partial or negligible.
The economic cost for each grower was a result of these three factors, we will attempt to draw general conclusions.
What It Means:
This project has highlighted that initial impacts were highly variable, contingent on geography, sediment type, and subsequent weather. Regardless of damage, this was a time of extreme stress for the communities effected and as outsiders we must consider how we can work together to alleviate this impact in the future.