Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker).

As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.
Thanks!

Click here for a guide on disabling your adblocker.

Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news!

Subscribe I am already a subscriber
‘We Give A Fork’ campaign

It's time for Australians to care about the future of fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts

Now is the time for the public to stand up and say, “we give a fork” about our growers, says Queensland’s state industry body for fruit, vegetables and nuts.

The Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) association has launched their national campaign to encourage open conversations around the pressing issues facing the sector. The ‘We Give A Fork’ campaign will run throughout 2024 and draw on the real stories of individual growers and provide achievable actions, with the public encouraged to show they appreciate and support our horticultural industry.

QFVG Chief Executive Officer Rachel Chambers said now is the time for people to demonstrate that they truly care about the future of fresh fruit, vegetable and nuts being grown in Australia.

“The challenges falling on our growers’ shoulders have never felt heavier,” Chambers said. “Over the past 100 years, Australian growers have faced numerous floods, droughts, cyclones, hailstorms, and a pandemic. Yet right now things have never looked more challenging for their industry with the ongoing and cumulative impact of three years of rapidly rising input costs combined with what can only be described as an onslaught of poor policy making, meaning growers are at breaking point.”

With a recent survey by AUSVEG, reporting over 30% of Australia’s vegetable growers looking to exit the industry in the next 12 months, the campaign seeks to draw attention to the very real issues currently facing the entire sector.

Chambers said the campaign hopes to raise a spotlight and awareness around three key takeaways. “The first one is that input costs have risen over the past three years, between 30% and 65%. Nationally, the average is 37% and productivity has decreased by up to one third. What business model can continue to sustain that?” she said. “The second is that growers have been sustaining this business model by eating into their savings, eating into their capital, and eating into their superannuation. I’ve got growers saying there is nothing left.”

“And thirdly, the policy pile-on in the past 18 months, including regulation and compliance changes in industrial relations, has dramatically changed how growers do business. There has been a raft of changes so rapid in succession that growers are struggling to keep up.”

For the public to be a part of the conversation throughout 2024, they can show they give a fork too by actively participating in the #WeGiveAFork campaign across social media. They can also download a pre-drafted letter of support from wegiveafork.com.au, fill it out and send it to their local council or Member of Parliament to help drive action.

For more information: wegiveafork.com.au

Publication date: