Govt. assistance needed as Fall Armyworm spread continues
FEDERAL Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter MP, has written to the State and Federal Governments requesting that the sprays used to exterminate the Fall Armyworm be subsidised as they cost farmers more than $600 per litre.
Mr Katter’s request comes following a new outbreak of the pest in Far North Queensland at the Basilisk Blooms tropical flower farm in Boogan, south of Innisfail and Cairns.
It’s believed to be the first time the Fall Armyworm has been detected infesting a flower farm. Basilisk Blooms’ owner, Heidi Piccolo, said they found the Fall Armyworms this week after regular spraying, and they were identified by the senior entomologist in Bowen.
“We’ve sprayed the plants with a number of insecticides one called Success and one called Entrust, and the Queensland Agriculture Department has recommended we use a spray called Fawligen that specifically targets Fall Armyworms. One spray targets the moths, and the other targets the actual worms in the soil and kills the larvae,” she said.
“It won’t get rid of them completely, but it will hold them at bay. The whole district needs to be working together. Even if we eradicate them, what’s to say a farmer around the corner won’t have them on their place and then they’ll spread back onto ours. All farmers need to be aware so we can stop the movement of the Fall Armyworm.
“I would welcome a government subsidy on the sprays as one of them costs $600-a-litre. It’s squeezing our profit margins. Other products we use have dramatically increased as well. Fertiliser is up $700 a tonne, the poison we use is up $100 a tonne, and airlines have put up their freight prices. We can’t keep putting the price of our flowers up, people just won’t pay for them.”
Mr Katter said his request to the State and Federal Ministers for subsidies would only be a miniscule amount of money but would greatly assist in controlling the Fall Armyworm. “There’ll be a hell of a lot of work to get rid of the damn things,” Mr Katter said.
“For a small amount of money, the State and Federal Governments can assist these farmers who’ve lost their ability to make a profit. These Fall Armyworms target maize, corn, sorghum, pawpaw, sugar cane and now flowers.
“If the Fall Armyworms continue to take out our farmers, then the Government will lose tax revenue. So, we are asking for this subsidy for the good of the Australian people, not just the farmers.”
State Member for Hill, Shane Knuth MP, said he was pleased the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) was taking the issue seriously after he had contacted them.
“DAF immediately sprung into action and are assisting the Piccolo’s with sample testing and on the best sprays to use,” he said. “I support Bob Katter’s efforts to get the costly insecticides subsidised. The Army Worm is destroying crops and we are seeing this right across the Tablelands, to the coast and the entire Hill Electorate.”
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