Agriculture continues to be a pillar industry for Tasmania with the latest ABS agricultural census information showing the value of agricultural production has grown to almost $1.5 billion.
This is an outstanding result for the 2015-16 year during a particularly difficult period when the State endured extreme weather events including drought and floods.
The ability of our farmers to adapt to the extremes of weather and prices and diversify is paying dividends with the growth they have seen in the past 12 months.
Our agricultural producers are also reaping the rewards of the quality of the Tasmanian brand which is enabling some of our major sectors to attract strong interest and good prices for their produce on the international stage.
The Hodgman Liberal Government has a vision to grow the value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050 and we are working to help farmers continue to achieve this goal by supporting them with the challenges of today but also preparing for the future.
Through funding and assistance provided during the extreme conditions of 2015-16, we are working with our farmers with increased investment in biosecurity, irrigation and research.
The State’s investment in irrigation also played a key role in mitigating the impact of the dry conditions, particularly for fruit growers and the wine industry which increased their combined value of production by $81 million (69%) to $199 million.
The ABS figures showed Tasmania’s farmers recorded an increase in gross value agricultural production for 2015-16 to $1.485 billion – up from $1.438 billion.
The ABS data also showed:
Although some of the traditional markets (dairy, potato and poppy production) were affected by challenging weather conditions, most still continued to perform strongly – highlighting the ongoing value of these industries to Tasmania’s economy.
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