New IrrigationNZ chief executive Karen Williams says that Ashburton is a shining example of how access to water can lift a district's economy.

"It's a thriving community.

"I see what could be for other rural communities with the addition of water and associated infrastructure, and the industry and commerce that goes with that."

Williams said it's essential to look at the impact of water access in agriculture from a national perspective, saying, "A rising tide raises all ships."

"We want good social outcomes and happy people who want to stay in New Zealand.

"We want New Zealand to be doing well, producing good food and fibre and having sustainable rural communities right across the country."

Williams, who farms in Wairarapa with husband Mick, took over the position from Stephen McNally on February 24 after a role with FMG as national client propositions manager.

Williams served as Federated Farmer's national vice president and board member between 2020 and 2022.

She also served as national arable industry group chair for the organisation for two years and has a background in resource management.

Williams said that although IrrigationNZ is based in Wellington to be close to the ears of the powers that be in parliament and related organisations, she is keen to hit the road and connect with irrigation scheme providers and farmers in the South.

"I'm keen to understand the South Island's challenges; we are a national organisation."

"We need to be getting out and about in the provinces, working with established schemes, advocating for their continuation, and also having those conversations for new development sites."

Water storage remains the biggest challenge and opportunity for the sector in New Zealand, as the climate continues to be drier on average.

Willimas recently attended a webinar with National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) scientist Andrew Tait, where he reiterated that eastern parts of the South Island would be predominantly drier – although surprisingly not necessarily in summer.

"He did say summer wasn't going to change much in terms of drought, but we are going to see changes in spring,autumn and winter."

Williams said the realities of climate change mean we need to be smarter about capturing and storing water.

"We live in the land of milk and honey.

"New Zealand is really blessed compared to other countries.

"We do have plentiful water; we just don't capture that much of it."

Looking at what has worked across the Tasman with water storage could help New Zealand address project challenges on home soil, especially in Tasmania, which Williams describes as "a real success story".

The outgoing chief executive of Tasmania Irrigation Limited, Andrew Kneebone, will be visiting New Zealand in June for the Primary Industry Summit in Christchurch, and Williams hopes to gain some insight from his experience in Tasmania.

"I'm hoping to unpack his expertise around how they developed so many water storage projects, what the magic formula was in that, and how all the parties worked together."

"We do have good domestic insights, too, but it's good to learn from others as well."

Williams said more government support is needed for new projects, especially with seed funding, as despite the tenacity of local individuals, projects often fall over before they can attract capital investment.

"We need the likes of what we are seeing with the regional infrastructure fund to enable these projects to be assessed and considered with community input to determine the best option going forward."

Water storage is just part of the solution to New Zealand's water resilience.

Technology that improves water use efficiency will play a large part.

"If we don't need to use as much water because we are using it in a more efficient way, that's game-changing.

"There's no silver bullet in a drying climate.

"It's going to be lots of little things added together that will make a collective impact."

IrrigationNZ is a voluntary-membership, not-for-profit organisation representing over 4500 members, including irrigation schemes, individual irrigators, and the irrigation service sector.

by Claire Inkson