The increasing threat posed by red imported fire ants to the Australian grain industry highlights the need for a reset of Australia's biosecurity system, according to GrainGrowers.
In its submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport inquiry into the spread of fire ants, GrainGrowers said the threat was a significant concern for the $31 billion grains industry.
The submission cites the Invasive Species Council finding that fire ants can reduce agricultural output by approximately 10% in cropping land, with an outbreak in the United States reported to cause a 20% reduction in sorghum yield, and with complete crop failures also occurring.
The submission highlights that the threat to health and safety is of serious concern, with farmers and rural workers operating in areas where it can be difficult to quickly access medical facilities.
GrainGrowers highlighted that fire ants are now knocking on the doorstep of broadacre agriculture with detection in Toowoomba, Queensland. The recent crossing of the border to Murwillumbah shows the vulnerability of agriculture with movements of contaminated hay or floods, all having the potential to allow the further spread of this invasive pest.
GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel said the potential for fire ants to cause issues was significant and needed to be addressed urgently.
"Our submission highlights the need for the government to reset the system to ensure it can meet modern biosecurity threats like fire ants. Sustainable funding and a comprehensive national approach that engages cooperatively with industries are required to ensure we are adequately protected and can address biosecurity threats."
Ms Gawel said GrainGrowers understands the central role of state and territory governments in the biosecurity system and has called for appropriate resources to allow them to manage responses to emerging threats.
"Simultaneous incursions of pests like Khapra beetle and Foot and Mouth Disease would stretch on the ground resources currently directed to fire ant control, and we would like to see safeguards in place to address this type of situation."
Ms Gawel said the submission also highlighted the need for the system to adopt a continuous improvement process.
"To strengthen the system, we must learn from on-the-ground responses to incursions like fire ants and Varroa mites. Cross-jurisdiction knowledge sharing can avoid duplication, shorten response times, enable cost savings, and, most importantly, bring about learnings that can be incorporated into the national system."
She said greater transparency was also required to build stakeholder confidence in the system.
Ms Gawel also called for more targeted information to help the industry understand the risk and what to look out for with fire ants.
"Growers need the resources to be able to identify risks and know how to respond to a fire ant incursion if it happened," Ms Gawel said.
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