RED witchweed (Striga asiatica) could costs the grains and cane industries millions if it takes hold in Queensland, says State Agriculture Minister John McVeigh.
Mr McVeigh today visited producers near Mackay whose properties have been affected by the recent detection of the exotic pest in mid-July.
He said it had been a good opportunity to meet face-to-face with affected landholders to discuss their individual circumstances.
"We know in the United States it's a very significant problem, they spend in the order of $250 million to address the issue," Mr McVeigh said.
Up to 60 farming properties in the Mackay region could be affected by the serious pest. Biosecurity Queensland’s Director Invasive Plants and Animals John Robertson said this was the first confirmed detection of red witchweed in Australia.
The weed is native to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia and causes around $7 billion of damage to grain crops in Africa each year.
“While our priority is to minimise any biosecurity risks, an integral part of this response is to ensure there is some business continuity for individual producers,” Mr McVeigh said.
“We are working closely with both industry and local producers to find ways of allowing harvesting of crops to continue this year."
Red witchweed has not been detected outside the five properties that originally reported the pest. Movement restrictions have been placed on four of these properties.
“The fifth property is being surveyed and will continue to be monitored but the weed hasn’t been found on that property to date," he said.
“Our surveillance teams have identified potential high risk pathways for the weed to spread, such as the movement of machinery.”
Canegrowers Queensland chair Paul Schembri said the weed is impacting on the livelihoods of affected farmers and the possibility of compensation had been discussed with the State government.
Original Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment