KVH is delighted to confirm that the new Pathway Management Plan for the kiwifruit industry has successfully been approved by the Government for implementation from 1 April 2022.
This new Plan will better manage biosecurity risk for all the kiwifruit industry and is an achievement that reflects the efforts of all who have contributed to development, planning, and several consultation stages since we first announced the proposal in November 2019. Thank you to all of you for your support and valued input.
Notably, it’s also the first National Pathway Management Plan implemented under the Biosecurity Act, demonstrating the continued biosecurity proactiveness of our industry and an important step forward in the way we manage the risk of unwanted threats.
Kiwifruit is grown across multiple growing regions in both the North and South Islands, and young kiwifruit vines are produced by nurseries in parts of the South Island remote from kiwifruit growing regions. While individual and group actions in specific areas can help manage risk, the coordinated and consistent national approach provided by the Plan means we all have a united goal and set of objectives and measures that manage pathway risks across the country.
The new Plan is equivalent to the current National Psa-V Pest Management Plan (NPMP), but the key difference is it doesn’t focus on a single pest and allows us to manage a broader range of threats to the kiwifruit industry, so that we can detect anything new quickly enough to stop its spread, limit impacts, and aim for eradication. It will replace the current NPMP as it retains the important elements needed for Psa protection (e.g., controlling movements associated with high-risk pathways to the South Island) and provides much wider benefits, including streamlining and simplifying rules and regulations so they are more pragmatic, and deliver greater value for money.
As we lead up to implementation from 1 April KVH will provide regular updates on new resources (such as helpful tools to create on-orchard biosecurity plans) and longer-term projects underway that will make it increasingly easy and pragmatic to undertake best biosecurity practice and ensure a resilient kiwifruit industry.
For more information:
Lisa Gibbison
KVH
Tel: +64 800 665 825
Email: lisa.gibbison@kvh.org.nz
www.khv.org.nz