A meeting of 500 kiwifruit growers taking place in Te Puke today will target MAF biosecurity’s responsibility in the Psa-v outbreak that threatens the industry. The bacterial pathogen has almost wiped out the gold kiwifruit species in the Bay of Plenty, and most growers have suffered severe losses from Psa infection of 1,000 hectares of orchard in the region.
Organisors of the meeting say that MAF biosecurity is responsible for the crisis because lax biosecurity measures allowed the pathogen into New Zealand on contaminated imported material. The meeting will consider six demands focusing on MAF responsibility, Government funding for recovery and compensation for losses. They will also vote on whether to demand a Commission of Inquiry into what organisor Rob Thode calls “New Zealand’s biggest ever agricultural disaster”.
Strong feelings against Zespri are also apparent amongst growers, many of whom claim the authority is complicit in the mismanagement that caused the outbreak.
Decisions taken by the meeting, after a secret ballot conducted by an independent accountancy firm, will be made public later today (17th February).
Related posts:
