Friday, March 29, 2024

ALTERNATIVE VIEW: Nathan proves to be a good Guy

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We were in Australia when the story of the Wairarapa pea weevil incursion broke and my immediate thought was “not again”.
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Wairarapa farmers are barely surviving now and a $13 million loss of income will hit the province hard.

Coming back and talking to people my views have changed somewhat. Though I was disappointed another incursion had occurred I’ve been convinced the handling of that incursion by the Ministry for Primary Industries has been professional.

It hasn’t been a great time to farm in the region and peas, for those who can grow them, have been something of a lifeline.

In addition, all the signs are pointing to another drought so life won’t be easy down on the farm.

Infected peas are something we can do without.

MPI has received considerable criticism from farmers and the industry because of the time gap between discovery of the weevil and taking action but I have some sympathy for MPI’s position.

Compare the pea weevil incursion with the Fonterra botulism incident where a relatively quick announcement was made – I’d suggest a panic announcement. It sent reverberations through our trading networks and the end result was that there was little to it.

To quote Oscar Wilde, it all ended up as an example of washing our clean linen in public.

We grabbed international headlines for a while, it made our systems look amateurish and our trading partners were concerned.

The problem was that all the huffing and puffing over botulism cost farmers and the country and for nothing.

Consequently, the statements coming out of MPI concerning pea weevil have been factual and unemotive. They told us the infection was limited, they knew exactly where it was and they were in control.

No-one has panicked, we haven’t had dire media headlines and life is continuing, albeit at a disadvantage for Wairarapa pea growers.

An Achilles’ heel in my view is the spread of infected pea straw but MPI has assured us the risk is minimal.

The farmers I spoke to believe the risk of further infection from pea straw is extremely small and they were happy with the MPI response.

Growers have been told they will be compensated for the difference in value of what they are forced to grow and the value they would have got from a crop of peas.

They also said the price they had been offered for pea straw was fair but they had the option of storing it for two years.

A farmer I have considerable respect for told me that he was happy with the MPI response.

He said MPI was confident it could beat the incursion and its strategy is sound.

That was rare praise indeed and tells me MPI did get it right. It handled the incursion professionally, it was a hard job and it did it well.

That was endorsed by Lincoln University’s Professor John Hampton who is professor of seed technology and director of Lincoln’s Seed Research Centre. He endorsed the MPI eradication strategy.

On the local front I believe Federated Farmers did a great job, ably led by local president Jamie Falloon, as did the Foundation for Arable Research.

As you will be aware I have been critical of our biosecurity efforts in the past and I stand by that criticism.

I recently wrote Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy had righted the biosecurity train wreck he inherited from his predecessor.

He is to be commended for that and for his document Biosecurity 2025.

He acknowledges the threat to New Zealand’s biosecurity will only increase as more tourists visit and imports grow.

Biosecurity 2025 has five key areas of focus and is available on the MPI website.

It should be compulsory reading.

The video clip on the site is great from a biosecurity perspective.

MPI is consulting and people are being asked for input and that is where provincial NZ must step up.

A biosecurity incursion is capable of bringing the country to its knees. We’re hardly likely to be physically invaded. 

We have to be part of that process. We must convince officials and politicians how vital a good biosecurity system is.

The Government recently released a plan for defence that involved spending $20 billion.

As a long-retired soldier I support that but I would argue biosecurity is every bit as important as defence.

A biosecurity incursion is capable of bringing the country to its knees. We’re hardly likely to be physically invaded.

I’d also suggest that biosecurity is every bit as important as defence on the international obligation front.

If we have a pristine biosecurity system and the world can be assured of the purity of our product, we are fulfilling obligations, albeit not with guns.

So biosecurity is vital, farmers have to get that message through.

It’s been made easy for us with the appointment of farmer and former Feds chairman Bruce Wills as part of the consultation team.

He needs your views.

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