By Shafiya Hussein, Grains Biosecurity Officer, South Australia
Grain production and exports increased in 2020-2021 with South Australia generating over $4.53 billion for the state’s economy from commodity and processed products.
South Australia plays a key role in Australia’s grains industry, producing 20% of the country’s grain and averaging seven million tonnes of production per year, with 80% exported to China, Asia and the Middle East.
Given the increased value of grain, biosecurity and protecting crops from exotic pests and diseases have never been more important. Biosecurity measures implemented on-farm by growers, play a key role in keeping South Australia’s grains industry pest free.
The Grains Farm Biosecurity Program (GFBP), Australia’s flagship biosecurity extension program, is designed to improve the management of, and preparedness for biosecurity risks in the grains industry at farm and industry levels.
The GFBP was launched in 2007 and is managed by Plant Health Australia (PHA) and funded by growers through Grain Producers Australia (GPA) along with the support of South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland state governments.
The GFBP delivers by:
As part of the GFBP, each state employs a Grains Biosecurity Officer (GBO) who is responsible for promoting awareness of biosecurity risks and a range of biosecurity practices that can be implemented on-farm to reduce the risk of endemic and exotic pests.
GBO’s work across three main areas: (1) surveillance coordination, (2) sharing information on managing farm biosecurity risk and (3) enhancing industry awareness and preparedness.
Since the program’s inception, the GBO’s have distributed thousands of farm biosecurity signs and helped growers to set up their daily activities in a way that protects their business and the industry.
The GBO’s are responsible for developing contingency plans to protect commodities from exotic pests, delivering workshops across the state, and communicating and consulting with stakeholders.
If you see anything unusual, please report it to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.
Visit the GFBP website https://grainsbiosecurity.com.au/ for more information, the latest news and helptful resources about grians farm biosecurity.
Download the Biosecurity Manual for the Grains Industry for easy to follow steps to protect the industry.
For more information on how to implement farm biosecurity practices on your property, contact South Australia’s GBO, Shafiya Hussein at Shafiya.Hussein@sa.gov.au.