Farm direct won’t fix our food system. Could new retail entrepreneurs?

Farm direct won’t fix our food system. Could new retail entrepreneurs?
Just two food companies control around 80% share of retail food sales in NZ. (Image: Deposit Photos)
Nicola Harvey
“We need to cut a number of players from the supply chain,” says Amanda Langley, an experienced project manager who farms deer on 135 hectares in Hawkes Bay with her husband Ben Anderson. And, “we need to make it a shitload more efficient and streamline a whole lot more control back to the producer.” Amanda is just one of many New Zealand farmers developing their own direct-to-consumer product out of frustration over current returns. But the path from farm to plate is marked by regulatory and labour potholes because...

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