Steve Bailey Federated Farmers Te Puke branch chairperson

The devastating news that kiwifruit killing disease Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) has spread from Te Puke to Tauranga, Waihi and Katikati highlights the need to deal with biosecurity incursions faster and better.

The spread of the virulent Psa-V strain is a devastating blow for this billion dollar industry. Nearly 10 per cent of New Zealand kiwifruit orchards are infected and, unfortunately, the lucrative Gold variety is worst affected.

This New Zealand developed variety earns about four times as much as green. Having been the real earner in recent years, its loss would hit the industry hard. Work is beginning on creating a disease-resistant Gold variety, but will take years.

Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty has a number of members growing kiwifruit alongside dairy operations and also many affected beekeeper members. With farmers facing the same kinds of biosecurity threats, we offer our support to our horticultural cousins and champion stringent border security.

New Zealand leverages off our relatively disease and pest free status when marketing our food exports. One of our greatest biosecurity defences has been our isolation and the natural barrier of being an island nation, but increased air travel and importation of goods has weakened our border. During the last two decades, several organisms have arrived, placing industries and the environment at risk.

We need better funded research and testing facilities to quickly identify pests and find solutions.

The Ministry of Agriculture response needs to be more nimble when pest organisms are first detected. We need response plans in place to counter new incursions. Central government needs to be willing to take on local knowledge and teams should be available 24 hours a day. Bugs and diseases don't work on a ‘9-5' schedule.

Currently, the government's eradication response ends once an incursion is deemed too difficult, leaving industries to solve the problem. We can play a part, but need scientific expertise to find real, long term solutions. Adding this cost onto people already struggling under additional control expenses and lost income could be a fatal blow.

That said, Kiwifruit Vine Health and Zespri are doing a great job of telling growers what is happening and how to deal with Psa. The strength and solidarity of the kiwifruit industry and the wider Te Puke and Bay of Plenty community is indeed a bright spot in a grim situation.