“Highly productive land is at risk of becoming unavailable for agriculture due to housing developments,” says the Our Land report. Staff photographer/Stuff Urban sprawl encroaching on market gardens has been a problem since the 1950s, says the Our Land report. More than 30 per cent of Auckland’s most productive land classes has been or will be developed. The Our Land report calls for increased urban density to meet demand for new housing, without pushing food crops further away from population centres. Now, climate change – and shifting offshore demand in response to climate change – looks set to drive new changes.

Source: Stuff April 14, 2021 22:54 UTC