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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-13 Daily Xml
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AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Zollo has the call. Start again, because I did not hear any of that.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Mr President, 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: Many areas of endeavour have been affected by new technology, and the all-consuming passion that a lot of us have for the allure of the new, and for the convenience of carrying in your pocket, on your smartphone, access to a wealth of information. However, publicised advances in agriculture, horticulture and farming often seem to be those brought about through the slow but steady and consistent work of breeding new lines with attributes that provide advantages in our conditions. My question is: can the minister advise the chamber of some of the other developments in agriculture?

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) (14:46): I thank the honourable member for her most important question, and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to answer this. I also note that I understand that Glenn Docherty, the mayor of Playford, and Damien Pilkington, a councillor from Salisbury council, are both running for the Liberals in the next election. I find that very interesting, the double standards that go on in this chamber.

Back to more important things, it is true that the headlines often seem to be taken up with advances in breeding new varieties of our important crops, and agriculture could be seen as traditional rather than high-tech. While the traditional nature of research in agriculture is obviously the backbone of our industry, and the improvements made are significant for our $14 billion a year food industry, it is not just through traditional means that our performance in grains production, in particular, can be strengthened. This area can often benefit from new smart technologies.

This is why I am very pleased to advise the chamber that our research and development institute, SARDI, is working on a range of advanced technologies which, when applied, will help our important industry to detect pests and diseases earlier in one of South Australia's particular strengths, broadacre crops. Through a $5.5 million, five-year research project SARDI, with its collaborators—including the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre and the GRDC—in a $1 million project 'New tools for field grains surveillance', will investigate new and existing technologies for early warning of exotic pests and diseases that would threaten our grains industry.

This project is working to find the best use of technology and to provide early warning of pest and disease incursions in these important crops. Advanced technologies will also support the early warning of outbreaks of exotic pests and diseases in a bid to significantly reduce the loss of crops and loss of access to export markets, and to safeguard our biosecurity integrity. I understand that there are a wide range of possible interventions under consideration, including things such as sensors, both above and below the soil.

Technologies include the use of near infrared lighting, as well as lasers, and I understand that acoustic and biosensor detection are being applied to a range of industries and that agriculture, fisheries and environmental management are all set to gain as a consequence of the rollout of these technologies. The sophistication and development of sensor technologies, in particular, are growing at a very impressive rate; they are even considering the use of drones.

The potential for high-tech testing is also applicable to improving farm productivity and counter-negative impacts such as drought and weather extremes, in addition to pest and disease monitoring. One example developed by SARDI and collaborators is to apply sensing technologies to rapidly assess whole-of-orchard stresses in tree crops, which can be caused by drought, extreme heat and high soil water salinity.

Testing of emerging technologies for application in our key primary industries helps to safeguard trade and to maintain productivity and global competitiveness. New-age sensor, web-based and wireless technology and even unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are among options being considered for early detection of pests and diseases in South Australia and Australia's broadacre cropping systems.

This project, started in July 2013, to harness advanced technologies to support the early warning of incursions of exotic pests and diseases aims to significantly reduce crop losses and to safeguard the biosecurity of grains in export markets. The two-part project will initially undertake a review of limitations to pest and disease surveillance and potential technologies which make surveillance more robust and cost effective. This part of the work is currently underway. Once this technology assessment stage is complete, the second part of the project will focus on the most promising technologies, which will be then trialled and adapted where necessary and delivery pathways for the technologies identified.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Sounds exciting.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The Hon. Robert Brokenshire is excited. I am very pleased to hear that interjection which, of course, I will ignore. The government is contributing just under $1 million to this five-year project to support South Australia's premium food and wine from a clean environment priority. Using sophisticated sensor technologies, which are developing at an impressive rate, makes sense and will improve productivity. These new automated digital sensor systems, sensing platforms and data transmission systems have the potential to take the testing for broad-scale pests and diseases into the field on a landscape basis, improving cost efficiency, timeliness and delivery on the ground. So, it is a great initiative.

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