Member for Barker Tony Pasin will visit Riverland’s fruit growers on Friday culminating in a stakeholder meeting to discuss potential measures to protect crops.

“Heavy rain, unseasonal frosts, hail, other extreme weather events and of course pests can reduce quality and result in total crop write-off in severe situations. As we’ve seen in recent years, such events threaten the viability of crops and impact supply to customers and consumers, creating issues throughout the supply chain,” Mr Pasin said.

“As the summer season approaches I want to take time to discuss what options are out there to ensure we can work together do what we can to prevent the losses we’ve seen in previous years.

“The State Government has removed red tape for commercial horticultural producers planning to erect permanent netting structures, by removing the requirement to seek development planning consent. This is a great step forward. I want to hear what more can be done to assist.

The costs associated with large scale orchard netting has meant the practice has been largely untried within the Riverland region.

“I think there is enormous potential opportunity for cost savings that can come from netting if we can overcome the initial outlay costs.”

Netting of orchards has the potential to increase water use efficiency as well as improving crop quality by protecting against severe weather events and pests.

“The purpose of this visit is to speak directly to growers and find out what works, what doesn’t and what obstacles stand in the way.

“The State Government has removed red tape for commercial horticultural producers planning to erect permanent netting structures. This is a great step forward. I want to hear what more can be done to assist,” Mr Pasin said.

All growers and industry stakeholders are encouraged to attend. The meeting will be held at 4.00pm, Friday 27th September at Sunfresh packing Shed, Renmark Avenue, Renmark.

All enquiries to Tony.Pasin.mp@aph.gov.au or (08) 85312466

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds 8531 2466