VFF: More pain for regional Vic

The State Budget, released on Tuesday last week, will bring the Victorian government’s investment into the agricultural industry since 2015-16 to $1.2 billion.

The agricultural industry was worth $17.5 billion, which supported 147,000 Victorian jobs in agriculture production and food manufacturing in 2020-21.

This year the State Budget allocated $49 million to enhance biosecurity protections and back world-class producers.

The money will support grant programs for producers, scholarships for hospitality workers, a farm safety and well-being program and funding for pests and weed management.

The government also committed to continuing the growth, protection and modernisation of the industry through a transformative 10-year Agriculture Strategy, which sets out a way forward to 2030.

“We’re backing our worldclass agriculture industry and the Victorians who rely on it, helping farmers access new markets at home and overseas and future-proofing the sector against pests and diseases,” Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney said.

Victorian Farmers Federation leaders expressed disappointment the agriculture industry and rural communities did not receive the funding they needed in the budget.

President Emma Germano said regional Victorians were being made to pay because of government decisions.

“While the treasurer’s speech talked a lot about paying down debt, it failed to mention the debt owed to regional communities who kept Victoria from recession in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

“Tim Pallas also failed to mention that debt levels for the state will continue to escalate during the next five years.

“Regional Victoria contributes almost 15 percent to the state’s economy and is the home of about a quarter of all Victorians, but has been left reeling with only five percent investment in the State Budget.”

Ms Germano said inequity in infrastructure spending would increase the cost of doing business for farmers and food prices for consumers.

“A $1.8 billion, 10-year road maintenance program is not long-term funding certainty – it is playing make-believe,” she said.

“It does nothing to give road asset managers the certainty needed to plan works and line up contractors to fix our roads, now.

“Failure to fix the state’s rotten roads will just mean more pain for farmers, supply chains and regional Victorians.”

Ms Germano said government responsibilities such as protecting agriculture from biosecurity threats would be put at risk by reduced funding.

“Despite some short-term investment for biosecurity funding, the large reduction to the agriculture portfolio’s budget will lump added strain on the biosecurity system,” she said.

EXPERIENCE:

Fourth-year university student Annie Yu packs seeds during work experience with Birchip Cropping Group.