As New Zealanders cope with the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, New Zealand Apples and Pears member engagement manager Anna Lambourne said many members were displaced and in Tairawhiti and Hawke’s Bay evacuation centres. Apple and Pears’ first priority was staff wellbeing and welfare, she said to www.stuff.co.nz
Growers worked tirelessly on Tuesday to get everyone to safety, Lambourne said. In the coming days the organisation would work with members to assess damage to trees and supporting infrastructure, she said.
In Gisborne, Leaderbrand chief executive Richard Burke said, “The water is gone, I'm actually standing out here, got my sunglasses on.”
But in some areas the damage was huge, Burke said, “We had vineyards that have been flattened, to the ground, and others only flooded. We have some crops that were flooded, but others just got wet. We will start harvesting corn tomorrow or Friday, if we can get trucks to take them out of town.”
Some lettuce and salads weren't damaged at all, and were already being sent to market, he said.
But there was a lot of damage to infrastructure like water and power.
The Government on Wednesday announced an initial $4 million to help farmers, growers, whenua Māori owners and rural communities mobilise and co-ordinate recovery efforts from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said he expected the Government would give more support once a full assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone across the North Island was complete.
Westpac New Zealand senior agriculture economist Nathan Penny said it was too soon to say how long it would take affected areas to recover.
“As a very rough guide we’d expect aggregate agricultural production to rebound back to pre-Gabrielle levels within a year. Individual farms and orchards, though, may take longer. Similarly, it could take substantially longer for repairs to damaged assets and infrastructure to be completed,” Penny said.