AUSVEG continues to update on the biosecurity response after the August discovery of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) in South Australia. The National Management Group (NMG), with representatives from all Australian Governments and industry signatories of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD), has released a Communique after their 21 November meeting regarding the eradication efforts of ToBRFV in South Australia.
The Communique details the ToBRFV Eradication Response Plan, which encompasses ongoing testing, surveillance, and monitoring to eradicate the virus and facilitate the return to tomato production and trade. The NMG has allocated $5 million towards these response objectives, with the plan's costs being shared nationally by governments and the industry under the EPPRD framework.
Further information on the Response Plan is available from South Australia's Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA). AUSVEG is in continuous dialogue with the Commonwealth regarding the cost-sharing details.
AUSVEG has been proactive in endorsing a biosecurity approach that limits the spread to other farms and allows the movement and supply of produce to the market through evidence-based, risk-managed pathways. It also stresses the importance of prompt progress in the national eradication response and the communication of testing and tracing results to growers.
Under the EPPRD, AUSVEG represents affected levy-paying vegetable industries during biosecurity responses to exotic plant pest or disease incursions. This includes engagement with the Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP) and the NMG, which are pivotal in decision-making under the EPPRD.
AUSVEG is advocating for the Response Plan to protect industries from ToBRFV, enable impacted businesses to resume trading promptly, ensure equitable financial contributions from levy-paying industries, and include owner reimbursement costs for impacted growers.
The roles of government in biosecurity responses are clearly delineated, with State and Territory Governments managing within their jurisdictions and the Federal Government handling international borders and national coordination.
While the tomato industry is not directly contributing to biosecurity levies, AUSVEG supports fresh market tomato growers during the ToBRFV response. The Australian Processing Tomato Research Council and Greenlife Industry Australia also participate in the national response under EPPRD arrangements.
Recent updates from South Australia have outlined biosecurity controls to prevent ToBRFV's spread to other jurisdictions. Temporary suspensions of Australian tomato imports by New Zealand and tomatoes, capsicums, and chillis by New Caledonia are in effect.
ToBRFV impacts tomatoes, capsicums, and chillis with symptoms on plants and fruits that affect yield and marketability, though it poses no known human health risks. AUSVEG has prepared a fact sheet on ToBRFV, offering information on the disease and biosecurity best practices.
AUSVEG urges growers to maintain strict farm hygiene to protect against ToBRFV, including ensuring compliance with biosecurity practices by all staff and visitors, disinfecting tools and equipment, sourcing disease-free planting material, and regularly monitoring crops for symptoms.
Source: AUSVEG