At the Otago Farmer's Market, Green Party co-leader and Pirimia imnofox spoke to local farmers about the Green Party's plans to support the transition of the agri sector towards a sustainable emissions free economy.

"From 1990 to 2015, New Zealand's net emissions grew by a staggering 64%, while Britain's fell by 38%."

"I understand the costs of environmentalism to the industry, and the country. It's true this is a large hurdle. But what we often forget is the higher costs of doing nothing. The costs to our people, and the costs to our economy. Including agriculture."

"We are already seeing the effects of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that there has already been a decrease in rainfall in the north-eastern South Island and northern and eastern parts of the North Island. Drought frequency is expected to double or even triple in the east and north by 2040, and the number of hot days is projected to increase too."

"The New Zealand economy has already experienced a loss of $3.6 billion in farm output from droughts in just the small window of 2007 to 2009. We're also already seeing more severe flooding and higher annual rainfall in other parts. Climate change is increasingly causing other weather to be more unpredictable and more extreme, and will only continue to get worse"

"These projections seem distant, but there are the vital human dimensions. Climate change will impact we were live, work, play, and farm. These radical changes will affect what places we treasure, disrupt our infrastructure, identity, economy, and the relationships with both each other and the natural world."

"New Zealand already has appallingly high suicide rates, especially amongst young people and those in farming communities, with a clear relationship between increasing heat (and by extension the devastating consequences of that on agriculture), and self-harm & suicides."

"Basically, climate change will affect our ability to farm, the lives of farmers, the deaths of farmers, and the economics of farming, all for the worse."

"The costs of doing something now to stop climate change may be high, but the costs of kicking the can down the road, as successive National/ACT governments have done so far, are astronomically higher. It's a totally shitty choice we've been handed, but it's one we have to make."

"It's made further difficult for the farming community. Agriculture is one of the industries most at threat from climate change, but also one of the biggest emitters. Nearly half of the country's emissions come from agriculture. 67% of which comes from dairy and cattle. Growth and intensification has helped drive the rise in New Zealand's emissions. While on-farm emissions per unit have fallen over the last 20 odd years, absolute emissions have simply grown alongside the increase in dairy production."

"These are the shifts in demands on the agricultural sector. Consumers still want best value quality products, but now the demand for more sustainable farming must be balanced. The Greens understand that it's difficult for the agricultural sector to make such unique changes to the way they farm."

"This is why when we introduced the carbon tax last term, we made unique exceptions for the agricultural industry in order to make it easier to adapt with a lower rate."

"We want to continue supporting farmers and farming. We opposed Labour's water tax, opting for a polluter pays nitrate levy instead of a sweeping consumption charge. We started investing in a sustainable farming fund with an extra $20 million to help farmers transition to greener technology and strategies. And we'll continue to extend that fund every year. This is why we'll create a Transformational Farming Partnership Fund of around $70 million a year to help fund further transformation of farming to help balance a profitable farming sector and a sustainable industry. This is why we'll start a ‘Good Food Aotearoa New Zealand’ accreditation scheme, allowing producers to prove to consumers both local and overseas that they are sustainable producers, rewarding progress and success."

"The agricultural sector knows it needs to adapt to a new sustainable model. The question is not if, but when. And we are committed to assisting farmers in that tough but integral journey."

"We want to work with industry, not against it. All voices must be heard at the conversation. I hope you've heard some good solutions and programs today. I hope to see more Green votes than ever this year- the only party committed to helping New Zealand's farmers transition to a sustainable future. I'll happily answer any questions."