A Geography of Contemporary Maori Agriculture

Abstract

Hypothesis. In little more than a century a transformation has occurred in Maori agriculture. Before 1840, most Maori agriculture could best be described as shifting cultivation. The existence of this form of cultivation in Maori life can be indicated by such terms a Tohea Whenua which means a field exhausted by cultivation and Oneone hou which signifies new soil. In this system the sweet potatoe (Ipomea batatus)was the major crop. Apart from the dog, no other animals were kept. Today shifting cultivation in its technical sense is non-existent and Maori agriculturists are mostly commercial pastoral farmers, keeping dairy cows and sheep. The production of dairy produce and of other pastoral products by the Maori who form 7 percent of the population, is not a very significant proportion of the New Zealand total. It is nevertheless of quite noticeable volume when compared on a world basis with the total output of pastoral production in many other countries. The number of Maori holding in 1959-1960 was 5,227.