Southern Australia's fruit bowl losing battle

With hundreds of Riverland farmers walking off the land and a third of irrigated farms now dormant, SA's food bowl is in crisis.

More than a third of SA's River Murray food bowl is vacant as grinding drought, low commodity prices, a high Australian dollar, cheap imports and a wine glut force irrigators to cut back on plantings or simply walk off the land.

A survey of more than 70,000ha of land irrigated from the Murray across 3667 properties found almost 24,000ha was left unplanted last year - almost the size of Coffin Bay National Park.

The survey, for the SA Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board, found the area of vacant land had grown almost fivefold between 2005 and last year, as the drought tightened its grip.

The vacant area is expected to grow as farmers on blocks of less than 15ha take up a federal offer of up to $150,000 to leave the land. More than 250 have applied, or around 10 per cent of small-block irrigators.

Apart from this, dozens of other farmers have sold their water rights to the Federal Government and stopped farming, while others are in the process of selling large portions of their water to give them enough cash to survive another season.

The exodus comes as a Sunday Mail special report reveals:

THE value of viticulture and horticulture in the Riverland has plummeted from $1.5 billion in 2002 to around $1 billion a year, robbing the region of hundreds of millions of dollars crucial to its prosperity.

THE number of citrus growers in SA - predominantly in the Riverland - has almost halved from 926 to 481 in the past decade while the amount of citrus produced plunged from 229,000 tonnes to 132,000 tonnes in the same period.

THE Central Irrigation Trust has seen more than 15 per cent of water entitlements it administers for irrigators transferred permanently since 2007, with predictions 30 per cent will leave the region.

THE Wine Grape Growers Association estimates Australia has a 20,000ha oversupply of vines, with the Riverland in the firing line because it is Australia's largest wine-producing region, supplying more than 50 per cent of SA's wine grapes.

OF the Rural Financial Counselling Service's nearly 2000 clients in SA, more than 600 are from the Riverland, known as the state's fruit bowl.

The sell-off has raised fears about the state's future food security.

Thousands of fruit trees are being left to die while many hectares of vines have been knocked over in recent months.

The area is also famous for stone fruit, almonds, vegetables, apples, cherries and olives but as the drought continues to take its toll, low commodity prices and a high Australian dollar are adding to the strain on irrigators.

Cheap imports have been the knockout punch for some farmers, with the ripple effect felt in small businesses throughout the Riverland.

An estimated 15 per cent of Riverland farmers are expected to leave the industry in the present upheaval.

The Coles and Woolworths duopoly is cited as a villain by some who say South Australians would buy Riverland produce if labelling laws were changed and supermarkets supported local producers.

SA Citrus Board Industry development officer Kym Thiel said for the "first time ever there could be a crop failure in some regions".

"Next year's crop is looking like an absolute disaster," he said. Last year, the Riverland produced its second highest yield of navel oranges - 80,000 tonnes. Mr Thiel predicted this could fall as low as 20,000 tonnes next year if the extreme heat returned.

Riverland Wine Grape Growers Association executive officer Chris Byrne said many growers had chosen to leave the industry.

He said Riverland growers had already moved ahead of other areas to start rationalising plantings, with 600ha removed in 2008 while others were attempting to sell their water allocations to cover debts.

"But there is no point to continue to buy water for a product for which there is no demand," he said.

National Party MP and River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald described the situation as a "collision of calamities".

"There is still optimism we have a future but things are very difficult at the moment," she said.

"One big change will be the Murray Darling Basin-wide plan now under way where new caps on water extractions will be enforceable. It is a huge job but critical for the future - NSW will no longer just be able to say 'sorry' for extracting more than they are allowed each year."

Ms Maywald urged city people to visit the region to fuel tourism, while noting the State Government had a long list of initiatives to help the region.

Central Irrigation Trust chief executive Jeff Parish predicted up to 30 per cent of water allocation would leave the district along with up to 15 per cent of farmers.

"A heap of people are selling their allocations to the Commonwealth because they can't sell their properties as a going concern," he said. "The roll-on impact down main streets of towns is obvious - empty shopfronts."


Source: news.com.au

Publication date: 11/30/2009

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