The increase of income for Māori land with manuka

An influx of hives on the manuka-laden lands marks Te Tumu Paeroa’s plans to use the upcoming manuka honey season to both increase owner income, and research ways to collectivise the manuka honey supply. 

Shar Amner (Ngāti Rangi), Te Tumu Paeroa Commercial Manuka Manager, says that this is just the first step towards a long term strategy aimed at assisting Māori landowners to unlock the value of land that contains manuka. 

“Currently, Māori landowners are receiving minimal or no revenue return for their land which is covered in valuable manuka honey resource,” says Shar. 

“There are a lot of middle men involved in the manuka honey industry, and so land owners are receiving just a small amount of the final price of honey.  Our research will focus on how Māori landowners can get their fair share of the value, which is not happening at the moment.”

“The hives that we place this season will create income for owners, while the information gathered about the quality of manuka (i.e. it’s UMF rating) will assist in long term decision making.”

To enable Māori land to increase returns, Te Tumu Paeroa is assessing all options within the manuka honey value chain.   Shar says there will be bigger opportunity in collaborating with surrounding Māori owned land blocks, to harness the potential from manuka. 

“This would bring benefits for Te Tumu Paeroa landowners, as well as owners of other land blocks with manuka,” says Shar. 

Te Tumu Paeroa manages 2,000 blocks of Māori land, and within that, up to 10,000 hectares has the potential to produce manuka products.  The upcoming Tairawhiti honey season marks the start of income stream, and the start of a long term feasibility strategy into collective manuka honey production.  

                         Whakapuputia mai o manuka, kia kore ai e whati
                  Cluster the branches of the manuka so they will not break