New Zealand's Largest Agricultural Region
The sector has grown more than 60% over the past six years – meaning strong career opportunities.
Waitaha Canterbury produces one-fifth of the nation’s agricultural GDP and its fertile plains produce a greater range of products than any other region, from sheep, dairy and horticulture to honey, wine and seafood, making for a wide variety of career opportunities.
Food, Fibre & Agritech
Agritech Gets An Agri - tick!
Why Ōtautahi Christchurch?
- 8.4%
- Average annual rate of growth for the Canterbury agriculture industry - higher than the national average annual growth rate.
- 16,200 people
- Employed in agriculture industry in Canterbury.
- 5.3%
- Percent of Canterbury workers employed in local agriculture industry.
Ash-Leigh Campbell - Technical Farm Manager at Ngāi Tahu FarmingYou don’t need to specialise in agriculture to work in the sector – we need people with expertise in science, technology and engineering. The sector is facing huge environmental challenges – we need the best people to help us solve these problems.”
Food, Fibre & Agritech In Canterbury
The Food, Fibre and Farming sector employs more than 20,000 people, with opportunities both on the farm as well as off-farm in high-value manufacturing, marketing and research.
Ōtautahi Christchurch provides a logistical hub with support from world-class manufacturing, technology and professional services. This means if city life is more your thing, you can work in the agri-sector and live in Christchurch city - you really can have it all.
You can also upskill while you work with NZ’s land-based university, Lincoln, which is 20 minutes from the CBD. Its agriculture and horticulture programmes cover a wide range of disciplines, including biology, chemistry, and plant, animal and soil sciences, as well as management skills. It leads the way in viticulture, with the first tertiary-level cool climate wine production programme in the English-speaking world.
