Fuelling our farming powerhouse
Tasmania’s dairy sets the standard, while other sectors also grow, says Guy Barnett
THE State Government is a great supporter of Tasmania’s agriculture sector, recognising its role in building a stronger economy and creating thousands of jobs.
We are backing rural and regional Tasmania by investing $100 million in the 2019-2020 Budget to fund initiatives that will help grow the annual farm gate value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.
The Budget funds industry development in all key sectors, farm business mentoring, agribusiness study scholarships, landcare, weed management, rural support organisations, and research and development. We are protecting primary industries, environment and tourism from introduced pests and diseases, allocating $30 million to Biosecurity Tasmania this year.
Since 2014, we have doubled the number of detector dog teams at our borders, from six to 12, and employed more staff to inspect of high-risk produce and imported freight and goods.
We are building more irrigation schemes, with $170 million from state and federal governments plus the investment from farmers.
Irrigation water enables farmers to diversify, add value and expand their farming operations, allowing producers to sign long-term supply contracts with confidence.
Irrigated land is estimated to produce eight times the value per hectare compared to improved agricultural land that was not irrigated. The third tranche of Tasmanian Irrigation would deliver 10 projects, providing 78,000 megalitres of water, creating thousands of jobs and injecting an estimated $114 million a year into the economy.
These budget measures will build on the momentum in our agricultural industries. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Tasmania’s agricultural production increased in value in 2017-2018 to $1.60 billion, an increase of 9.1 per cent, with the industry now directly employing an estimated 7500 Tasmanians.
Overseas food exports continue to grow, up almost 8 per cent from $686 million in 2015-16 to a new record $740 million in 2017-2018.
The dairy industry, Tasmania’s highest value agricultural commodity, has shown consistent growth over the past decade, rebounding from difficulties in 2016 to set a record of more than 910 million litres in 2017-2018, increasing production value by 32 per cent. While many dairy regions have contracted, Tasmanian’s $429 million dairy industry continues to grow, supporting thousands of jobs in hundreds of farms.
Other growth areas include: BEEF, farmgate value up 14 per cent to $337 million; POTATOES, up 11 per cent to $122 million; WOOL, up 8 per cent to $116 million and, FRUIT production, up from $92.7 million in 2013-2014 to $197 million in 2017-2018.
With production booming and demand for Tasmania’s products surging, confidence is rightly high. The latest Rural Confidence Survey from Rabobank shows two-thirds of Tasmanian farmers expect positive agricultural conditions to continue. Rabobank reported Tasmanian farmers hold strong investment intentions, with 34 per cent looking to increase investment.
Farmers can feel confident because we have a strategic approach with the Agri-Food Plan for 2018-2023, our framework for growing strong and sustainable agricultural and seafood industries.
While we can be proud of the growth in Tasmania’s agricultural sector and the rural and regional jobs this is creating, there is more work to do and we are focused on getting on with the job. Liberal Lyons MP Guy Barnett is Tasmanian Primary Industries and Water Minister.