Stronger agriculture sector to deliver more jobs and opportunities

The Hodgman Liberal Government is delivering on our plan for a stronger economy and creating more jobs with $70 million in additional funding over 4 years for agriculture in the 2018-19 State Budget.

Our comprehensive Agri-Food Growth Plan for 2018-2023 recognises the importance of agriculture to the State’s continued growth and the significant investment the Tasmanian Government is making in the sector.

We know that a strong agricultural sector delivers jobs and opportunities across every region and this Budget delivers across the board in supporting our farmers from our major dairy, beef, fruit and vegetable producing sectors to our winemakers, organic industries, beekeepers and wool growers.

This Budget is about supporting our farmers on the land but also recognising the importance of strong farming families, support programs and investing in the future.

That is why we have also invested in biosecurity, marketing, research, development and extension as well as our rural financial support services and other community organisations.

We have also recognised that for our agriculture sector to continue to grow we need to look to the future. That is why we have invested in supporting the farmers of tomorrow through continued investment in our agricultural tertiary sector.

Among our many initiatives included in the 2018-19 State Budget are:

$4.18 million to work with farmers, processors and agribusiness on practical industry development strategies to improve productivity and profitability throughout the supply chain in the red meat, dairy, wine, fruit and vegetable, honey, hemp, and organics sectors.
$400,000 through Skills Tasmania to continue the Wool Harvesting Training Program.
$860,000 over 4 years for an additional two AgriGrowth Liaison Officers based in the North, combined with a new Primary Producers Hotline, to provide easier access to Department of services. This is in addition to $2.4 million to support the move of 100 position in DPIPWE to Launceston and Devonport.
An additional $595,000 for Rural Financial Counselling Services and Farm Business Mentoring delivered by Rural Business Tasmania as well as increased funding for Rural Youth and Tasmanian Women in Agriculture.

This Budget also provides an additional $3 million over 5 years taking the total investment to the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) to $28 million to support a new Agricultural Innovation Fund for specific industry-aligned priority research programs, and $7 million over 3 years to modernise Crown and TIA research farm assets.

Additional funding of $60,000 per year will assist students who would not otherwise access higher education, undertake an Associate Degree in Agribusiness at the University of Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Government is also investing more into practical on-ground Landcare works that sustain our productive soils and farm land, rivers, biodiversity and other natural resources.

The Hodgman Liberal Government is the most strident supporter of our farmers and the primary production sector and we are delivering on our plan to grow the value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.