Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
April 24, 2008
The Premier John Brumby
today launched the Victorian Government’s $205 million strategy
to boost farming services, drive growth and innovation in
agriculture and help the sector respond to new challenges.
In Horsham with the
Agriculture Minister Joe Helper, Mr Brumby said the
strategy, Future Farming – Productive, Competitive and
Sustainable, was about ensuring Victoria’s farming families,
businesses and communities continued to thrive in the face of
global challenges.
“When I became Premier, I said improving services to farmers
would be a key priority for our government,” Mr Brumby said.
“Since then, our government has held a farming roundtable with
industry representatives and we have spoken with many people
connected with agriculture as we’ve moved across the state.
“The clear message our government has received is that farmers
and farming communities want to grow their businesses and want
farming services to be better targeted. They want support to
respond to global challenges and to boost their productivity and
innovation.
“The Future Farming Strategy sets out new investment built
around seven key actions to provide farmers with the tools they
need to grow.”
Mr Brumby said the Future Farming strategy outlined $205 million
in new measures including:
-
$103.5 million to boost productivity through new technology
and changes in farming practices – including the development
of new generations of drought, cold and salt resistant
crops, improved plant and animal disease control, and new
technologies to lift productivity.
- A new package of measures
and initiatives to build skills for the farm sector and
attract young people to farming – including new trade wings
at secondary colleges for trades that are in short supply in
primary industries with details to be announced in the State
Budget.
- $11.4 million to help farm
businesses plan for and adapt to climate change and to
provide farmers in key industries with new technologies and
strategies to adapt their farming systems to future climatic
conditions.
- $24 million to manage
weeds and pests, including new action to assist farm
businesses to strengthen land and water management.
- $12 million to support
farmers and rural communities in securing their future and
adjusting to change, including a new National Centre for
Farmer Health in Hamilton in conjunction with the new Deakin
University Medical School and the Western District Health
Service to improve the health and wellbeing of farm workers
and their families across Australia.
- $11 million to help farm
businesses capture new domestic and international market
opportunities; and
- $42.7 million to upgrade
sections of Victoria’s rail freight network; and
- Creating Farm Services
Victoria – a new division in the Department of Primary
Industries – to deliver services that are better tailored
and targeted to meet the needs of farm businesses and their
families.
“Farmers produce the food and
fibre that are essential to life and have underpinned rural and
regional communities for more than 150 years,” Mr Brumby said.
“They contribute significantly to exports and economic growth,
manage substantial land and water resources and strengthen the
social wellbeing of Victoria.
“In recent times, farmers and their families have faced a number
of challenges – from prolonged drought and water scarcity and
strengthening competition in overseas markets, as well as
confronting the impact of climate change, urbanisation and
changing community expectations about natural resource
management and biosecurity threats.
“At the same time, exciting new opportunities are emerging –
from the growing demand for meat and milk within the expanding
economies of China and India; to innovations in science and
technology, to new water and carbon markets.
“To drive prosperity into the future, the sector will need
access to the latest developments in agricultural research.
“It will also be vital to rapidly adopt new and more complex
production technologies and practices to raise the quality and
value of products leaving the farm gate – and to have the
flexibility to diversify into new areas and develop new
businesses options and partnerships.”
Mr Brumby said the Future Farming strategy would help position
farmers to meet these challenges through modernised services,
greater access to technology and research, improvements to the
regional freight network, and more targeted support for farming
communities.
The Minister for Agriculture, Joe Helper, said the Future
Farming strategy recognised the critical importance of offering
services that match industry needs now and into the years ahead.
“As farmers respond to unprecedented change over the next
decade, services provided by Government to the farm sector must
also change,” Mr Helper said.
“The Brumby Government will better target service to provide
farm businesses with the sophisticated and hi-tech support and
information they need to build their competitiveness and
sustainability.”
The Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky, said the major
new investment to upgrade Victoria’s rail freight network would
enable farm businesses to get their products safely and
efficiently to market.
“Farm businesses rely on access to reliable and economic
transport options to serve both domestic and international
outlets,” Ms Kosky said.
“The Future Farming strategy provides $23.7 million to enable
upgrade works to start progressively on the Gold priority lines
and $19 million for maintenance works on the freight network
over the next 12 months.
“This will enable the Brumby Government to build on our work
over the past eight years to ensure Victoria’s transport network
support the needs of the farm sector and meet the growing
freight task over the next 20 years.”
For more information on Future Farming visit
www.dpi.vic.gov.au/futurefarming |
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