Join farmers, growers, and industry leaders at Kai o Ngā Tau Ki Mua – Food Futures Hui to explore how climate change is shaping the future of food production and what practical solutions are already working on the ground.
Hear directly from producers, researchers, and innovators while sharing real-world insights on resilient, profitable farming and land use in Aotearoa.
The program includes keynote speakers, presentation sessions, panel kōrero, and interactive workshops with dedicated time for whakawhanaungatanga, networking, and delicious locally sourced kai. Connect with others across the sector, build partnerships, and leave with ideas and actions you can put into action.
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Palmerston North | 21 July 2026 | 9:00am–5:00pm
Venue: Palmerston North Conference & Function Centre
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Lineup
Susie Robertson
Susie has a passion for people and planet, so her role as Chief executive of Kaibosh ticks both boxes, with its mission of Zero Food Poverty and Zero Food Waste. Susie is also a board member on the Aotearoa food Rescue Alliance, and a previous co-chair of Enivornment Hubs Aotearoa.
Ashley O’Neil
Ashley O’Neil is a Sector Development Senior (Kaiwhakawhanake Rāngai Tautōhito) working across the Manawatū to strengthen food and fibre systems and build long term economic resilience. Ashley is currently leading the Manawatū Regional Food Strategy.
Andrew Watt
Andrew Watt is the Kairuruku Hohenga Āhuarangi, Climate Action Coordinator at Horizons Regional Council. Andrew developed the Horizon's Pūtea Hapori Urupare Āhuarangi - Community Climate Response Fund which has funded numerous localised kai projects since 2022.
Chrissy Severinsen
Chrissy Severinsen is a Professor of Public Health in the School of Health Sciences, Massey University. Her research focuses on advancing health equity through community and settings-based health promotion, improving health and social service provision, and public health education.
Ira Bailey
Ira Bailey (Taranaki, Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Mutunga) lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and is currently the Platform and Security Lead at Divine.video, a decentralised video platform and the founder of Coshop, a community-led food platform to directly connect eaters with growers.
Naomi Hall
Naomi Hall BSc, Dip Tchg (Sec), is the founder of Live2Give Organics, an online organic produce business based in Manawatū. Naomi is passionate about practical solutions that strengthen local food systems, support regenerative growing, and make healthy food more accessible.
Aliese Puketapu
Aleise Puketapu is aligned with Tahuri Whenua Inc., the National Māori Horticultural Collective. She is a horticultural scientist by training and now works across māra kai spaces, growing, perpetuating, and sharing taonga crops, seeds, and knowledge.
Pounamu Skelton
Pounamu believes in living closely to Papatūānuku through her passion for growing healthy Hua Parakore Kai for her whanau and community. After 27 years of being a mirimiri practitioner, Pounamu has switched to gardening and mirimiri of Papatūānuku.
Programme overview
Rethinking our relationship with kai
Rethinking Kai is a creative resource (Comic strip) developed through a collaborative research project exploring food sovereignty in the Manawatū region.
Food systems and community
An overview of our current food systems in Aotearoa, and what they could become with more community focus.
Manawatū Regional food strategy overview
Explore the Manawatū Regional Food Strategy and the role of the Land Diversification Initiative in shaping the region’s food future.
Mana Whenua Research
An overview of Tahuri Whenua, the National Māori Horticultural Collective, and its kaupapa to support māra kai, uplift Māori interests in horticulture, and rethink our food systems by reconnecting with taonga crops, indigenous knowledge, and future-focused growing practices.
Local Climate Projections
See the work that's underway to produce a digital story map of downscaled climate projections across the Horizons Region to support rural resilience on-farm planning.
Co-shop; using technology to connect growers to consumers
Coshop has made in the past few years running experiments and pilots across the greater Wellington region in partnership with Wesley Community Action and Kaibosh, next steps on the journey as it scales up and the vision of what community-led food systems could look like.
Live 2 Give Organics
Practical solutions that strengthen local food systems, support regenerative growing, and make healthy food more accessible.
Pest to Plate
Telling the story of how Te Ao Turoa are combining pest control with feeding the community.
Turning talk into actions
An interactive workshop, drawing together key insights from across the hui and working collectively to shape some practical next steps and actions.
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Sponsors
Want to become a sponsor? Email Morri for more info.
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