PULSE BREEDING AUSTRALIA

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about agriculture.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: I know we all appreciate the importance of consuming vegetables and fruit to keep us healthy, and pulses are an important component of this food group; indeed, in some countries they are the staff of life of many cuisines. You look a little bit worried about this, Mr President. South Australia is a production base for many of these important legumes and the research needed to support them. My question to the minister is: can she advise of a recent development in relation to pulses?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:15): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. Mr President, South Australia is a leader in pulses; I know that that may be a bit of a surprise to you, but we are. We are a leader in pulses, with five temperate pulse crops. Mr President, I know you are interested in this because I know how fond of chickpeas you are. You love chickpeas on your steak and with your chips, don't you, Mr President?

The five temperate pulse crops—chickpeas, field peas, faba beans, lentils and lupins—are all being grown here in South Australia, so it was a logical choice for Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) to hold its inaugural pulse conference in Adelaide, and it was held in October this year. I was very pleased to be able to attend and open that conference. The conference, which was co-hosted by SARDI, aimed to bring together the Australian pulse industry; the pulse breeders and agronomists; pulse marketers and pulse growers, to examine ways of expanding pulse production within Australia's cropping systems.

Members may not be aware of the importance of pulses, both as a crop and as a rotation in agriculture, and also the variety of benefits they have to offer. They are a vital crop in a number of different ways. They are a nitrogen-fixing crop, so they help fix nitrogen in the soil, which is very important for the nutrients and further production of our soils. They help reduce soil degradation and provide a valuable rotation crop with cereals for pasture, which helps in turn reduce the risk of pests and diseases and, of course, as a food I know that you enjoy eating them, as many people do. They are also used for animal feed consumption. All round, Mr President, as you can see, pulses have a great deal to recommend them.

Pulse Breeding Australia aims to increase pulse production to more than 15 per cent of the total cropping area in Australia, generating more than $1 billion in economic activity. The South Australian government strongly supports this campaign. One of the government's seven strategic priorities is premium food and wine from our clean environment. It seeks to secure our position as a producer of premium food and wine from our clean water, our clean air and our clean soil, and it is also working to capitalise on the increasing global demand for premium products.

International demand in some of the world's largest markets is supporting our pulse exports, and they provide a nutritious and popular food for millions of people all over the world. Australia produces nearly two million tonnes of pulses a year, and much is exported to India. I know it is hard to believe that South Australia exports lentils to India, as well as pasta to Italy, and also pulses to North Africa and the Middle East.

The conference was a great success. There is a lot more that I could say about it, but I will save that for next time. As I said, the conference was a great success and it was a wonderful privilege to be able to host it here in Adelaide.