114 | PRODUCTION Ahuwhenua Trophy Award T T Ange Davidson Awards celebrate connection to land The Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrates Māori business excellence in New Zealand’s pastoral and horticultural sectors. The Ahuwhenua Trophy acknowledges and celebrates Māori business excellence in New Zealand’s pastoral and horticultural sectors. Held annually and rotating each year between horticulture, dairy, and sheep and beef, the trophy’s focus for 2023 was horticulture with Gisborne’s Wi Pere Trust the supreme winners. First round and finalist judge and Chief Advisor Māori for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Rito Tapuke says the awards are about developing Māori land for farming and horticulture, but they are also about whānau and their connection with their land. “The awards are really unique as people working the land are effectively looking after their identity and their connection to the land and whānau, as well as with their ancestors. “They are part of that whānau and looking after what has been given to them so they can pass on to their children and also be in a position to help the wider community.” “It all comes back to the land, how we care for the land and obviously how we develop it. This is really important. It’s about whānau looking after their land and developing and maintaining connections to each other and their community,” believes Rito. “This year’s award was about orchard performance but also about how you look after people and maintain culture and spirituality. These are the elements of excellence that Ahuwhenua seeks to promote.” “The awards also provide an insight into how Māori develop and live with their land. Most non- Māori are wanting to learn so we encourage that. There is a pōwhiri at the field days and many aspects of Māoritanga are reflected in the competition.” After the first round judging the three finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy commit to a judging day and a field day where community are invited to see how the farm or orchard operates, and for the farm to present itself to the community, the award’s sponsors, local councillors, sector groups and other stakeholders. Entries for the award close early December. At the end of the following January the first round of judging occurs and the three finalists are announced in parliament in February. “The awards are really unique as people working the land are effectively looking after their identity and their connection to the land and whānau, as well as with their ancestors.” After further judging and field days, the winner is announced in May at a final dinner. This is an undertaking in itself with up to 1000 guests at the function. The finalists are filmed and staff are interviewed for the finals night which forms part of an important archive of Māori achievement in land based industries where a legacy of hard work, fortitude and innovation is demonstrated. “The awards and archives show there are many ways of farming but in common is the idea of kaitiakitanga, or guardianship, of your land, your staff, your whānau and community. A Young Farmer of Year award runs in tandem with main competition to recognise the achievements of young Māori and inspire rangatahi into the farming and horticulture sectors. The Ahuwhenua Trophy was originally launched in 1933 by the visionary Māori leader Sir Apirana Ngata and the Governor General Lord Bledisloe. The awards are sponsored by Te Puni Kōkiri and Ministry for Primary Industries and a range of Māori, agricultural and educational enterprises. The upcoming 2024 competition will celebrate Māori dairy farmers. For more information, visit www.ahuwhenuatrophy.maori.nz.
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