How we identified and measured aspects of Māori agriculture

In Tatauranga Umanga Māori: Statistics on Māori businesses we use the term ‘farm’ because our Agriculture Production Survey measures farming operations below the enterprise level. ‘Farm’ denotes one or more blocks of land, managed as a single operation, engaged in agricultural activity. Activities include livestock farming, horticulture, viticulture, nurseries, forestry, growing grain and seed crops, and land that could be used for these purposes.

We identified Māori farms by matching our Agriculture Production Survey to the Tatauranga umanga Māori population. This population comes from a number of different sources and includes both Māori authorities and other Māori enterprises (OMEs). The majority of Māori farms are Māori authorities, and a small minority are OMEs.

The 2022 Agricultural Production Census included a new Māori identification question that allowed Māori farms to self-identify. This has improved the quality and size of the Māori farm population but means that data in the Agricultural production statistics: Year to June 2022 (final) release are not directly comparable to previous years.