By Jed Lanyon
The Victorian Government has pledged more support for the horticultural industry to help manage the Queensland Fruit Fly outbreak with a $6.4 million investment.
Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) is a serious pest that can affect production and markets in horticulture industries – more than $1 billion of Victoria’s horticultural exports are susceptible to damage from fruit fly.
The Government says work to manage QFF will protect the 14,000 jobs supported by horticulture production across the state.
Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas said, “Providing this local, on-ground management helps our farmers to grow the quality produce they are known for.”
Fruit fly can build up in home gardens and unmanaged lands which then leads to problems on productive farms. The strategy, which has been developed in close consultation with industry, will deliver awareness programs that empower the community and growers to keep their crops free of damage from QFF.
Several outbreaks have been detected this year across the Yarra Valley, prompting Yarra Ranges Council to urge locals to be vigilant to help stop the spread.
The fly had been detected across five Yarra Ranges townships including Silvan, Hoddles Creek, Mount Evelyn and in Badger Creek.
Council say they were notified of the Silvan detection in early January and the Badger Creek detection in early February, while QFF were detected in Mount Evelyn and Hoddles Creek (and nearby Kinglake) in mid-February.
QFF was also detected in the Yarra Valley in February 2018, in January 2019 and March 2020. Containment and eradication treatments were then put in place by private landowners.
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) welcomed the announcement, labeling QFF as a significant risk to horticulture crops throughout the state and a major barrier for fruit exports interstate and to key international markets such as China.
VFF Horticulture President Nathan Free said the funding will help protect Victoria’s significant horticulture industry.
“This funding is welcomed and will help protect against the potentially devastating impacts of the Queensland Fruit Fly,” Mr Free said.
Mr Free noted that while a large range of horticulture crops are affected, these pests are often found on residential properties and wild plants.
“These kind of collaborative community, industry and government projects are key to protecting regional Victoria’s productivity and our reputation for high-quality produce.”
“If we don’t properly fund our biosecurity, we risk our market access across the world and forever disadvantage our horticulture industry,” Mr Free said.
As part of the budget investment, $5.3 million will be available in grants for Victoria’s three key horticultural regions – the Yarra Valley, Sunraysia and the Goulburn Murray.
These grants will fund regional fruit fly coordinators to deliver on-ground help to manage QFF such as monitoring, community awareness programs, hot spot management and trialling of new techniques for improved management.
The Fruit Fly Strategy for Victoria 2021-25 will be released next month, with implementation to begin soon after.
“The Fruit Fly Strategy for Victoria empowers industry and the community to lead the way so we can best protect our robust horticultural businesses and ensure their local communities continue to thrive,” said Ms Thomas.
State Nationals Party leader Peter Walsh said the funding was a $2.54 million cut to biosecurity and said more funding should be provided to protect the sector, which employs nearly 15,000 Victorians.
“Our agriculture sector rightly expects governments to be focused on strengthening biosecurity to better protect farmers against damaging pest outbreaks,” he said.
