$13.5 million investment into biosecurity for grain growers

The NSW Government has invested $13.5 million to advanced research and diagnostic technology to protect NSW grain production and food security from the threat of exotic pathogens and pests.

The $13.5 million will be a five-year co-investment through the National Grains Diagnostics and Surveillance Initiative.

“Keeping these pests and diseases out is our priority, but if they do get in then we need to be prepared,” said Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Tara Moriarty.

“NSW has the best food and fibre in the country and our exports are highly sought after in international markets, which is why we continue to expand our capacity to respond in an emergency.” 

The co-investment will be led by the NSW government scientists at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI), with work also underway at the Wagga Wagga, Tamworth and Orange Agricultural Institutes.

The project which aims to address critical gaps in grain biosecurity is part of the Government’s $946 million investment in protecting the State’s primary industries against biosecurity threats.

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), in partnership with Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), is creating new early warning and molecular diagnostic tools.

These tools are essential to identify and reduce the impact of exotic biosecurity threats. 

The work, which is targeting 16 exotic grain pathogens and 62 exotic grain pests currently not in Australia, aims to prevent billions of dollars damage to the state’s agriculture sector if there were future domestic outbreaks of these threats and includes:

• the development of new tools which will increase the number of samples that can be tested within a given time, and
• near field diagnostics that will speed up pathology results to inform management decisions, such as when and where to spray crops to control pests and disease. 

Targeted pests and pathogens, currently not present in Australia but causing significant damage internationally, include wheat blast, exotic fusarium wilt diseases and hessian fly. 

Overseas, the exotic wheat blast disease, present in South America, Bangladesh and Zambia, has resulted in devastating crop losses of up to 100 per cent when the environmental conditions were conducive.

The possible spread of the wheat blast and other diseases from overseas to Australia has increased in recent years because of the international seed and grain trade, Australia sharing similar environmental conditions and global warming.

Exotic pathogen and pest incursions can damage crops, increase production costs and halt exports with the annual cost of control and impacts on trade conservatively estimated to be $100.4 million per incursion event.

The National Grains Diagnostics and Surveillance Initiative is a $42.7 million national initiative with a focus on biosecurity led by the GRDC.

Source: Food & Beverage