THE TASMANIAN Government has pledged more than $300,000 will be put towards tackling the downy mildew outbreak, currently affecting the state’s poppy industry.
Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff said $320,000 was being set aside for industry wide research, by the government, Poppy Growers Tasmania, the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) and the three poppy processing companies.
“This effort, coordinated by AgriGrowth Tasmania - the body we established to be responsive to the needs of primary industries - will look at the fungus' biology, its transmission and future control strategies,” Mr Rockliff said.
The industry is worth $90m a year, to Tasmania.
One of the first initiatives of the cooperative program is to bring one of the world's foremost researchers into downy mildew to Tasmania.
Dr Hermann Voglmayr, from the University of Vienna, will meet with growers, processing companies and research staff during a visit to Tasmania next week.
The research is being led by the TIA and is being jointly funded by the three processing companies, Poppy Growers Tasmania and the Liberal Government through our new AgriVision 2050 Research and Development Program.
Each partner would contribute a total of $64,000 over two years.
Poppy Growers Tasmania chief executive Keith Rice said it was good to see a co-operative approach from government, industry and research institutions to address the disease.
“This response is all about securing the future of the poppy industry in Tasmania so we have gone all out to engage some of the worlds' leading plant pathologists to work with our local farmers and poppy processors to get a long term practical solution to this issue as soon as we can," Mr Rice said.
