March 24, 2020
Farmers “have our backs” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Queenslanders were assured by AgForce on Tuesday.
The agriculture lobby group said Australians don’t have to worry about running out of high-quality fresh food.
“We truly are the lucky country when it comes to feeding ourselves, producing three times as much food as we need,” General President Georgie Somerset said.
“Australians can rest assured that our farmers are doing their bit and with recent rains are ramping up production to meet demand – although of course, this may take some time, as new crops don’t grow overnight.
“In the meantime, farmers hope our reassurances about the country’s food security will encourage people to return to their regular shopping habits, safe in the knowledge there is more than enough for everybody.”
Mrs Somerset said AgForce was working closely with the State Government and, through the National Farmers’ Federation, the Federal Government to have agriculture and the rest of the food chain, including transport, recognised as an essential service.
“The response by Federal and State Governments to the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 crisis has been outstanding, but we also need to ensure these very necessary precautions don’t affect people’s access to food or indeed other essential household items,” she said.
“For example, border closures and restrictions on movement must not be allowed to impact on the transport of food products to shops or, just as importantly, on getting essential inputs like seed, livestock, fertiliser, crop protection products, and workers to our farms.”
