In the field of fruit and vegetables, Ms Garonne affirms that “many people don’t realise that the region is one of the largest horticultural producing regions in Australia.” In fact, Mildura and the extended region, including Riverland and Swan Hill, account for about $2 billion of the $10 billion generated by Australian horticulture, with the biggest sectors being almonds, citrus, dried fruits and table grapes.
The Mildura Development Corporation is a non-profit organization working together with the Mildura Rural City Council to encourage growth and prosperity in the region. CEO Ms Jenny Garonne explains that they achieve this “by assisting local businesses to expand, by encouraging investments and facilitating connections with the right people, to support exporters and advocate to ensure the right infrastructure is in place.”
In the field of fruit and vegetables, Ms Garonne affirms that “many people don’t realise that the region is one of the largest horticultural producing regions in Australia.” In fact, Mildura and the extended region, including Riverland and Swan Hill, account for about $1.5 billion of the $9.5 billion generated by Australian horticulture, with the biggest sectors being almonds, citrus, dried fruits and table grapes.
One of the big issues they’ve had to deal with recently, besides the usual problems with the availability of water to keep up with the demand for growth, has to do with the Backpacker Tax. She explains, for instance, that “with the producers planning to harvest their crops and preparing for other tasks involving manual labour, the industry relying on the backpackers to provide the flexible labour force.” The Federal Government at one stage were going to implement a 32.5% tax on backpacker’s wages and this has been put on hold until 1 January 2017 while a review is undertaken. A solution needs to be provided to ensure backpackers are confident in what they will be paid, continue to visit and work in Australia and farmers have the resources they need.
Another important issue is ensuring the smaller horticultural properties are viable in the future. One of the ways the region historically developed was through Soldier Settlement allocations, which entailed the provision of 4.5 hectare properties to soldiers returning from the war. Ms Garonne affirms that, “at the time, it was a very forward-thinking initiative, as it gave them some income and allowed them to be confident about their future. Now, many of the smaller blocks are no longer viable and many of the farmers are really struggling. Through the $120 M Sunraysia Modernisation Project that now provides access to water 24/7, producers now have the opportunity as individuals or as a group of producers, to value add and consider alternatives crops. The issue is that many producers have been through droughts and floods and although are resilient, need to embrace change to transition to a new future.
The fact that the cost to access water is getting more expensive is also described as a big challenge to ensure the price paid for products that are grown remain competitive, although “we are very lucky, because we have secure water here and many of the global investors in this region recognise this and are interested in investing to diversify their profit base. We have certainly seen interest from many areas, including New Zealand, Canada, China and the Asian region,” she explains. Such investments help improve the economy and to increase jobs within the community, “Through international partnerships, the region is increasing access to knowledge and new technology that is assisting in the region producing high quality products, which makes us more competitive overseas,” she states.
Ms Garonne also believes that a key target to guarantee the future of the community is to do more to improve understanding on the skills that are offered within the agriculture industries and lure the younger generations either to stay, or to return, “showing them that there can be career paths in horticulture, especially with the new technology that has been developed, and there’s certainly a need for people in middle management roles.”
Lastly, it is also deemed essential to promote horticulture in the region’s tourism industry, to attract visitors to take advantage of the quality food and wine experiences on offer. “We need to be able to tell the story about the food, to get tourists to come and experience the sector, to be involved in picking the grapes and
undertake tours to understand how almonds grow and the trees develop.” she concludes.