Call for pipeline to Bunyip Food Bowl

Growth of the Bunyip Food Bowl has emerged a priority in a recent agribusiness taskforce report prepared by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

An agribusiness taskforce has recommended increased investment in regional Victoria infrastructure.

In Gippsland, the taskforce has recommended that funding be provided for development of a detailed, fully costed business case for establishing a pipeline to supply water from the Eastern Treatment Plant to the Bunyip Food Belt.

The report said urban growth was taking over many farmland areas and new food production areas would be needed.

The taskforce said local government and water authorities within the Bunyip Food Belt were working hard to protect and support growth of the area as a key food producing area for metropolitan Melbourne and Victoria.

Water infrastructure improvements will be needed to support growth of the Bunyip Food Bowl.

The taskforce said the Eastern Treatment Plant’s recycled water could be utilised for agricultural production if a pipeline was provided.

The VCCI report found agribusiness is a vital industry for Victoria’s future and needs to attract investment and more agricultural Students. The taskforce report, Harvesting Growth for Victoria, was released last week and makes a number of recommendations in six areas key to the future success of Victorian agribusiness:

Increase quality, innovation and value capture across the agribusiness supply chain; Grow new agribusiness markets; Facilitate investment and increase output; Fast-track infrastructure and reduce transport and distribution constraints;

Improve workforce skills, grow jobs and build business capacity; and, Lower agribusiness costs and reduce red tape. VCCI chief executive officer Mark Stone said many Victorians did not realise how important the sector was to the state, particularly in regional areas.

“Agribusiness exports account for 29 per cent of all Australian food and fibre exports and a significant 47 per cent of all Victorian goods exports,” he said.

The taskforce, comprising agribusiness representatives and industry experts, spent six months investigating the issues and opportunities facing the sector.

“Infrastructure gaps, particularly transport infrastructure, must be addressed as a priority as they are holding back agriculture’s supply chain productivity. Costly and unnecessary red tape is also working against the efforts of many producers,” he said.

“In a sector characterised by an ageing workforce and a comparatively low number of agricultural graduates, measures to address skills shortages and attract more young people to agribusiness careers must be fast-tracked.”

The report indicates that a lack of recognition and understanding by the wider community of the significance and contribution of agribusiness meant it was not always seen as a high priority among policy makers.