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Warning on pest threat
28 Apr 2004
A quarter of Victoria's farmers do not know they can be fined for not reporting pest disease outbreaks in their crops, according to a survey of 300 farmers by the Auditor General's office. The survey also showed that 17 per cent of farmers don't know where to send diseased crop sample or pest for identification.
The results raise concerns about Victorian farmers' ability to detect and report pest and disease outbreaks, the Victorian Auditor General, Wayne Cameron, said. The Department of Primary Industries should explore ways to provide better incentives for reporting and should clarify how it compensates growers for reporting. It should also investigate other potential reporting sources, such as at grain silo sites.
The report also indicated there are potentially hundreds of different plant diseases and pests that could threaten crops in Victoria. Trends point to an increase in incursions of exotic threats particularly in the past 10 years, Mr Cameron said.
Weekly Times, 28/4/04, page 2.
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