TIME TO STOP TINKERING WITH BIOSECURITY

BY DAN GALLIGAN, CEO, CANEGROWERS

You don’t need to tell farmers about the heartache of doing all you can to grow a profitable crop only to have the prospects of profitability snatched away from you because of elements outside your control. Topping the list of threats is obviously the weather, but pest management is not far behind.

I think it’s this lack of control that makes biosecurity management so fraught for agriculture.

Farmers are excellent at controlling agricultural pests such as insects and weeds.

Decades of advancements in crop protection products and application technology has at least “filled the armoury” for farmers to both monitor and counteract crop incursions. Further, we have known for decades that an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach is the most comprehensive way of combating crop pests.

IPM takes a multi-faceted, multi-seasonal approach that incorporates monitoring and district level coordinated control measures.

There is no doubt that we need to take a similar approach to what feels like an all-out assault on agriculture from a range of invasive species.

If we just look to the obvious challenges such as feral pigs and rats, we have some farmers reporting 10-20% crop losses from these pests. Then there is the loss of operational capacity and freedom to farm from red witch weed and fire ants. And all of that is only in the sugarcane sector.

Skip across to our sister industries such as cotton, grains, horticulture – they all face similar problems, with their own list of weeds and pests.

Let’s not get familiar with this situation and miss the gravity of what is going. Agriculture in Australia is under siege.

But this situation has not come about through lack of effort. Australia has some the world’s top experts on biosecurity scattered across our industry, government, and research sectors.

Given our geographical isolation and trade exposed status, this is as it should be. It is mission critical.

A recent announcement by Federal Agriculture Minister Senator Murray Watt committing $268m over four years towards a new fire ant strategy must be commended, as it responds to industry advocacy and recognises that a strategy alone without funding is not an action plan at all.

That being said, it still feels like we’re using our finger to stop up a hole in the dam with all these strategies and reviews, the piece meal programs and short term funding.

On the ground things are working more effectively, thanks to strong collaboration between landholders, government agencies at the state and local level, and professional service providers.

This type of collaboration and coordination puts more boots on the ground, people who are tasked with taking plans and putting them into action, but it takes time and effort.

We have to stop tinkering around the edges of these challenges. While the impact on industry productivity is profound, the impact on individual profitability, not to mention the sheer personal stress of being out in the field shooting pigs, or baiting rats, is driving farmers out of business.

Growers need support, this is not something that they can or should deal with alone and CANEGROWERS will continue our strong advocacy on this issue. 