Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

Combining artificial intelligence with traditional knowledge from people who work the land is part of a new AI tool developed to help make decisions that maintain environmental and cultural values.

Tupuna Pai is an artificial intelligence-driven platform designed to empower farmers and land stewards or kaitikai of the whenua to make decisions, says founder Phil Kupenga.

Kupenga is from Tairāwhiti and has a passion for helping bring technology opportunities to the region.

“Tupuna Pai is an agritech solution that integrates advanced AI with traditional indigenous knowledge to support sustainable land stewardship,” Kupenga said.

The platform provides tailored recommendations that align with the values of the land stewards, ensuring that every decision made on the land honours both the environment and the cultural heritage of the community.

For example, it can look at data about the soil, water, and weather and then suggest the best times to plant or fertilise crops, or how to reduce the use of harmful chemicals while keeping the farm productive.

Kupenga said the idea emerged from his work as a Taiao member at Whāngārā Farms.

They had developed a decision-making tool that focused on putting taiao at the centre of their decision-making.

“This framework emphasised that while profit is important, it must not come at the expense of our people or our whenua,” he said.

He saw a gap in the framework in regards to bringing it to life and making it part of the day-to-day decision-making.

“Tupuna Pai is designed to address this by serving as that guiding tool.

“While the final decision will always rest with our farms and land stewards, this platform will help you make choices today that will benefit future generations, all while building a brand that consumers can trust.”

He said this was trying to solve the problem that many farms and agricultural businesses have – making sure their decisions consistently align with their mission and values.

Whāngārā Farm Business Manager Ray Leach, Tupuna Mai founder Phil Kupenga and Whāngārā Farms CEO Anthony Creswell have been working together to implement the AI tool.

“Inconsistent approaches to land management not only threaten sustainability but also fail to meet the growing consumer demand for transparency and ethical practices.

“Tupuna Pai addresses this challenge by integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into every decision, ensuring that actions taken on the land are both ethically sound and environmentally responsible.

Kupenga and the team at Whāngārā Farms are working closely to develop and refine the platform.

He is in the process of assembling a team, aiming to include some of the tech developers trained in Tairāwhiti and seek further funding to fully develop this platform and the services it will offer.

Whāngārā Farms Partnership now farms 8834ha of East Coast land, with 7649ha being effective, and includes 78,943 stock units.

There are 2500 joint shareholders and Whāngārā Farms is governed by a board which is made up of three representatives from the incorporations and two independent directors.

Whāngārā Farms CEO Anthony Creswell said the rapid development of AI technologies meant it was becoming an intrinsic part of life for businesses, communities and individuals.

“For Whāngārā Farms, Tupuna Pai is not only an opportunity to support our business in making better decisions for how the whenua is managed.

“It will ensure our decision-making approach is holistic and inclusive of our whole value system of kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, rangatiratanga and manaakitanga.

It achieves this by combining data and technology with indigenous knowledge.

“It will minimise environmental and business risks while optimising productivity by being able to instantly consider all risk factors and provide holistic solutions.

“It will provide transparency to our community by being able to illustrate the application of tikanga Māori in all things we do.

Matai O’Connor, Ngāti Porou, has been a journalist for five years and Kaupapa Māori reporter at the Gisborne Herald for two years.