The horticulture industry is welcoming a new policy on water storage with open arms.  

National's promising that farmers will not need a resource consent to build a water storage pond in most cases unless wetlands or Significant Natural Areas are affected. 

It's a plan they say cuts red tape around food production.  

Horticulture New Zealand Policy Manager Michelle Sands says it's a positive policy.  

She told Mike Hosking that most growers are conscious of managing their environmental effects, but there are rules being developed that create costs for them without achieving any benefits. 

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