SGRR seeking feedback on biosecurity levy
Seed and Grain Readiness and Response Inc (SGRR) is the Government Industry Agreement (GIA) on Readiness and Response signatory for the arable industry.
It successfully sought and gained mandate from growers, processors, and distributors of arable crops in 2018 to join the GIA and signed the GIA Deed in June 2020.
Federated Farmers of New Zealand has sought to become a GIA signatory in its own right, but the terms of the Biosecurity Act have prevented this.
Feds has been able to secure some influence in GIA through the Arable Industry Group, which is one of the five members of SGRR. The others are the New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association, United Wheatgrowers Limited, Foundation for Arable Research and New Zealand Flour Millers Association.
As a GIA signatory, this means that the arable sector now has a say in readiness and response decision-making impacting the sector and in our first year as a GIA partner, we have been involved in several small-scale responses.
However, the ability to influence response decision making means that the sector needs to contribute funding to readiness and response activities. When seeking mandate to join GIA in 2018, SGRR informed growers that it would fund readiness activities using contributions from each SGRR member; and a Biosecurity Levy would be used to fund response activities.
SGRR is now seeking feedback from growers, processors, and distributors of arable crops to use zero rate a new Biosecurity Levy until such time as required to fund response activities. In the event of a response, the levy would be set at a maximum rate of 1 percent at the first point of sale and apply to domestic and imported arable products.
In-person and online meetings are being held with growers throughout April and we encourage interested growers to attend one of these meetings.
Subject to feedback, SGRR expect to submit their completed Biosecurity Levy application to the Minister for Biosecurity in the second half of 2021.
If you have any feedback on the proposal, please send it to Philippa Rawlinson (prawlinson@fedfarm.org.nz).