Agriculture is one of Tasmania’s greatest competitive strengths and I am committed to continuing to support farmers to grow the industry and create jobs in our rural communities.
Next week I am leading an agribusiness delegation to New Zealand from November 8-12 to explore opportunities in key areas including dairy, wine, education and biosecurity.
There are so many parallels between Tasmania and New Zealand; we are cool climate islands with rich farming histories and we enjoy relative disease free status.
To that end, we share many opportunities and challenges and we each have lessons to learn and knowledge to share.
Tasmanian agribusinesses have shown huge interest in crossing the ditch to engage with our neighbours.
Joining me in New Zealand will be Dairy Tasmania, Wine Tasmania, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group, TasTAFE and from the University of Tasmania, representatives from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.
We will have a major focus on dairy on the South Island. The delegation will look at the role of dairy expansion in growing regional communities and best practice.
We will visit the Foundation for Arable Research to discuss the growth and development of grazing and cropping through farmer-aligned research, development and extension projects.
We will also take the opportunity to explore new biosecurity partnerships. As islands we share in similar risks and new markets because of our relative pest and disease freedoms.
The chance to boost the role of universities in agriculture will also be explored and we will also take a close look at wine tourism, partnerships and projects around profitability and sustainability.
This is an unprecedented opportunity to learn and grow as an industry and an island state.
As a Government we unashamedly back agriculture. We are confident in the industry’s capacity for growth, and firmly believe the value of agriculture can increase ten-fold to $10 billion by 2050.
The opportunities in the short, medium and long-term that can arise from this trip will help us to achieve that.
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water
