The Trust Alliance New Zealand Incorporated (TANZ) is a non-profit industry consortium governed and operated by its members. We provide tools and protocols to enable a trusted data network. We believe in a decentralised approach, to enable easy data capture, and protection & permissioned sharing across the primary sector.
TANZ is an advocate for self-sovereign identity and an enabler for a decentralised data management. We aim to create a future where farmers are in control of their own data through the use of decentralised digital identities, verifiable credentials, and digital wallets.
TANZ is an enabler for the food and fibre industry to move from selling based on brand promise to brand proof. We want to enable farmers to show digitial proofs of sustainable farming. These proofs can be used to ensure and increase international market access, unlock better financial access and turn farm compliance into real value.
TANZ is owned and governed by those who use it, providing opportunity and profit potential for all members, rather than a winner takes all model. Our members and supporters include many of New Zealand’s public and private sector primary producers, growers, exporters, retailers and service providers.
TANZ strives to enable self-controlled, trusted data sharing; reducing the data duplication that impacts farmers’ compliance-driven work (or activities), such as Farm Environment Planning or ESG reporting. Overall, TANZ aims to support more New Zealand farmers and growers in meeting compliance, to ultimately facilitate more sustainable outcomes.
To do this we are developing a trusted digital framework to share data in a secure way; a decentralised approach that will allow farmers and growers to capture, manage and share their data while also controlling and protecting it.
Chris Claridge has an extensive business and academic background and is passionate about how the primary sector can embrace the digital world. Chris is the Chair of the Trust Alliance New Zealand Inc (TANZ) non-profit industry agricultural consortium. TANZ is an advocate and enabler for decentralised data management aiming to create a future where farmers are in control of their own data through decentralised digital identities, verifiable credentials, and digital wallets.
Chris has a background in primary sector production, marketing and export. He was the Chief Executive of Potatoes New Zealand Inc representing growers, processors and exporters for seven years. He has established primary sector businesses including Claridge’s Organics in the 1980’s one of New Zealand’s first organic food exporting businesses. In the 1990’s he established ID Digital Media, a full-service advertising company specialising in Web 1.0 and digital communications. He also founded Carrickmore, a dairy export company specialising in marketing infant formula, at the same time he helped establish the New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association. The Association grew to 26 companies representing an export value of $60 million before being adversely affected by changes in the regulatory environment. Chris has the academic background to supplement his practical experience having graduated with a Masters in Biotechnology he became a Dean of Business Studies and a Senior Lecturer in Management.
Melisaa Baer has 20 years’ experience in food & tech industries. She provides software development services to leading agriculture brands in New Zealand. Melissa was one of the first to sell organic meat online in Canada.
She is a trusted advisor to New Zealand’s leading food & fibre brands. Melissa draws from her deep immersion training in fields such as physical sciences, ecology, social sciences, marketing, economics, human psychology, human health, technology, human potential movement, and the science of innovation.
Nic Conland has a unique background of regulation, policy and science applications both analytical and conceptual. This has evolved over the last 25 years to involve him in solutions for some of the entrenched problems facing New Zealand communities to make changes in the face of deteriorating environmental measures. Nic has worked across New Zealand developing natural resource management plans with performance mechanisms that provide feedback loops to measure ecosystem health and promote resource efficiency.
Nic sees data as an integral component of measuring, improving and communicating our farm and natural ecosystems through our local and global markets. Nic has been engaged with iwi, Universities and providers of analytical equipment to provide solutions for managing catchments and communicating freshwater conditions, outcomes and values for Te Taiao.
Terry Copeland is the Chief Executive of Federated Farmers, having been in the role since August 2018. This role is responsible for 70 staff who provide the delivery of advocacy and policy development on behalf of farmers, continuing the development of the benefits of membership for 13,000 Federated Farmers members and for influencing rural leadership and community resilience.
For the previous five years, Terry was Chief Executive of New Zealand Young Farmers whereby he rejuvenated this next generation membership organisation into a talent attraction provider to the Primary Industries, specialising in school engagement and career focus as well as showcasing agricultural excellence to the wider New Zealand audience. From May 2021 to February 2023 Terry chaired the Food & Fibre Leaders Forum Chief Executive Group, 13 primary sector organisations with key issues of commonality to support engagement with Government Ministers. For most of Terry’s career, he spent more than two decades in the wine industry working on wine quality improvement and developing key export markets. Terry has also been a highly respected and experienced international wine judge since the late 1990’s.
Trust Alliance NZ Incorporated – 50072511 NZBN: 9429049549539
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