FRUIT FLY management programs will receive a significant boost to safeguard fruit production regions from the destructive impacts of Queensland fruit fly.
$2.9M in Fruit Fly Grants have been awarded to three organisations, including Moira Shire Council, to support fruit fly management programs and to explore innovative ways to manage the pest.
Fruit flies are considered a major pest, damaging a variety of crops and impacting production and horticultural industries, which export more than $1.6B of produce.
Under Round One of the $5.3M program, Mildura Rural City Council, Agribusiness Yarra Valley, and Moira Shire Council will deliver region-wide programs on behalf of the Regional Fruit Fly Governance groups.
The funding was announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Mary-Anne Thomas, who said, “Fruit fly can build up in home gardens and unmanaged lands, leading to problems on productive farms – that’s why we are empowering industry and local communities to lead the management of Queensland fruit fly.”
Programs will engage local communities to protect neighbouring horticultural production, including removing unwanted trees, trialling new monitoring methods and new crop waste management techniques on farms.
Protecting fruit on the trees through investment will protect the 14,000 jobs supported by horticulture across Victoria, while ensuring growers are well placed to respond to biosecurity risks and to promote and build confidence in the sector for international markets and the community.
“Our fruit fly management programs in key horticultural regions are vital and I look forward to seeing how these grants will support regional fruit fly coordinators to work on the ground to manage this major economic pest.”
