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the australian farmer
to detect disease in orchards before it is visible to the human eye to finding hitchhiker pests on sea contain- ers. We have a shared responsibility to keep Australia free of as many exotic pests and diseases as possible and being prepared for their arrival just in case. EDITOR’S CONCLUSION: We commissioned this article for practical reasons as our mandate as an NFP Social Enterprise is to assist the Australian farmer achieve greater pro- ductivity thus prosperity. Having surveyed the bio- security realm in Australia extensively – especially for our major 2017 book Boundless Plains to Share – we saw something important to report on. Bio- security concerns and the potential for negative economic impacts will continue to escalate. The pandemic has made this situation more acute. Achieving ever greater controls, and applying innovation to this subject, will improve economic outcomes for the farmer. Ever since former Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb forged new trade deals with several countries in North Asia, export opportunities for Australian farmers have flourished, along with greater scrutiny. Our reputation for “clean and green” food products precedes us. Other nations are eager to consume our products, and their governments ever more vigilant about food safety issues. Our government ought re-double efforts, and at the same time be congratulated for fine achievements thus far. But there is no substitute for on-site, specific innov- ation and care expressed by each farmer, and by their immediate community.
border for checking and reporting items that come in through the mail or a suspect new animal or plant pest or disease. This collective effort helps to maintain the integrity of our biosecurity system and continues to pro- tect our industries and the natural environment from serious pests. The plant bacterium known as Xylella fas- tidiosa, for example, is number one on our exotic plant biosecurity threat list that we have been successful in excluding from Australia through the activation of many biosecurity measures. There are some really simple things that farmers can do to increase on-farm biosecurity awareness, in- cluding erecting signs at main entry points and visitor reception areas that remind people that they are in a biosecurity zone - much like the safety signs that you see when entering an area with dangerous machinery or biological hazards. Basic requirements for visitors, such as ensuring that their boots are clean of soil from other properties and that any equipment brought onto the farm is clean, reinforce the message that bio- security is a serious undertaking without making it an onerous task. Australia’s Rural Research and Development Corpor- ations invest in research and development programs that strengthen our biosecurity system and give our industries a competitive edge. These programs seek to minimise the harmful economic and social conse- quences of new threats to farmers, their industry, and regional communities that support them. Australia’s world class biosecurity scientists are constantly pur- suing and achieving novel, transformational research outcomes, ranging from automated insect and air- borne disease spores traps to hyper-spectral imagery Demonstration of both stressed plants being sus- ceptible and also abandoned orchards in a com- munity garden on South Goulburn Island, NT. Plants like this in northern Australia are good sentinels for exotic plant pests that could enter through natural, unregulated pathways such as wind. These form an early detection system for our valuable industries, and illustrates the strong partnerships required in our biosecurity system, in this case with indigen- ous ranger groups who are a vital cog in our north. Photo supplied by Dr Greg Chandler.
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