Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has sought to reassure the farm sector the impact of cuts to her department will be offset by reorganisation.
Ms Thomas was speaking at the first United Dairyfarmers of Victoria conference to take place in 36 months after COVID-19 caused cancellations during the last two years.
She said there had been a net reduction of 109 staff to Agriculture Victoria, as part of cuts to the Victorian public service.
The cuts were necessary to deliver savings to ensure the government's budget position remained viable.
"It's all part of good management," Ms Thomas said.
"It's always important to assess what is being delivered, by the public service.
"When it comes to AgVIc you will not have a diminished service.
"AgVic has been reorganised in a way that will enable us to continue to deliver services that are so highly valued."
The government had invested $142.5 million to strengthen Victoria's biosecurity system.
"When it comes to research, we want to work in collaboration with the university sector and industry to better respond to the needs of industry and be more flexible, so we can deliver on the most important issues facing the sector."
Opposition Agriculture spokesman Peter Walsh accused the government of cutting more than 100 jobs from Agriculture Victoria, while increasing the number of public servants in the office of Premier and Cabinet by 370, since 2013-4.
"Labor's savage cuts to agriculture scientists and research and development jobs comes as Victorian farmers also suffer the consequences of cuts to biosecurity and strategic efforts for export market diversification," Mr Walsh said.
"While AgVic is forced to tighten the belt by cutting decades of scientific and operational expertise from its workforce, the Premier is spending millions extra on spin doctors in his own personal office.
"If Labor hadn't wasted $24 billion in cost overruns on major projects in Melbourne, they wouldn't need to cut AgVic's research staff."
He said jobs in soil sciences, genomics, animal nutrition and research on pest weeds and diseases had been targeted by the cuts.
Ms Thomas said she was disappointed meetings of state and national agricultural ministers were not happening on a regular basis.
"We need a strong national biosecurity framework and we need to be able to work cooperatively.
"I've been extremely disappointed that despite the wishes of almost all of the states that AgMin has been wound up, and the current federal Agriculture Minister does not want to be part of 'out-of-session' meetings on key issues.
Biosecurity had to be led by the federal government.
"Because once it's in we're just managing it within the nation. And we've got to be better than that."
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Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
