The Hort Innovation-funded biosecurity project Avocado Industry Biosecurity Strategy 2022-2026 (AV21002) commenced in July 2022 and continues to develop resources to protect and strengthen the Australian avocado industry’s biosecurity future.

Managed by Avocados Australia Limited (AAL), the project considers both current and future biosecurity risks to Australian avocado growers. The five-year project aims to:

• strengthen preparedness through the development of exotic pest preparedness documents and response exercises
• identify gaps in pest risk assessments and prioritisation
• improve diagnostic capability and pathway analyses, and
• support on-farm biosecurity practices to address biosecurity risk.

John Tyas, AAL’s CEO, acts as the key representative of Australian avocado growers under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD). He regularly sees the impact of exotic pest incursions on Australian horticultural industries and growers.  As a result, he is well aware of the importance of biosecurity to address prevention, preparedness, response and recovery when it comes to significant regionalised endemic pests and exotic pests that are not yet known to occur in Australia.

“The cost to all growers as a result of new exotic pest incursions, their management and impacts on export markets is foremost on our minds.  Being prepared and having policies and procedures in place beforehand greatly reduces possible future impact and cost”, said John.

So far, the project has:

• trained all AAL staff and Directors in key aspects of biosecurity response and decision-making processes under the EPPRD
• developed a Biosecurity Incident Standard Operating Procedure (BISOP) to confirm decision-making processes and allocate roles and responsibilities to key decision makers.
• trained two staff members to support grower industry liaison in the event of a biosecurity emergency or incident
• reviewed serious avocado pest threats, producing 21 detailed Pest Pathway Analysis reports
• continued to identify and address gaps in pest risk assessments, pest prioritisation, national diagnostic protocols, surveillance, exotic pest management and trade impacts
• completed an economic impact assessment using two exotic pests as case studies
• consulted industry stakeholders through workshops on on-farm biosecurity preparedness, risks, and opportunities for improvement
• assessed and benchmarked grower adoption of on-farm biosecurity prevention practices
• identified barriers to adoption of biosecurity measures, with feedback gathered to inform future strategies
• kept growers informed through Avocados Australia’s communication channels including Talking Avocados Magazine, the Guacamole newsletter, and industry updates.

A project meeting in June at the AAL office in Rocklea confirmed the Year 4 plan to achieve project deliverables and outcomes.  Highlights include developing an industry biosecurity strategy to guide AAL in promoting on-farm biosecurity practices and consolidating previous work to support a revised Avocado Biosecurity Plan produced by Plant Health Australia.

Present at the project meeting were John Tyas, Grant Telford and Anna Petrou (Avocados Australia); Stephen Quarrell and Zoe Nix (Plant Health Australia); Shanara Veivers (QLD Department of Primary Industries); and Monique Sakalidis and Marcus Visic (WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development).

The Avocado Industry Biosecurity Strategy 2022–2026 (AV21002) project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the Avocado research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

For more information about the project contact Grant Telford via biosecurity@avocado.org.au.