Farming

Farming

• Stop buying back water licences from irrigators on the Murray River. Until the eastern states restrict their own irrigation intake, South Australia should hand back water licences to enable local irrigators to restart abandoned fruit blocks.
• Invest in sustainable, water saving irrigation methods that allow viable agricultural practices to co-exist with a healthy river.
• Encourage drought-proofing practices among farmers to increase water security.
• Increase the fruit-fly checks on our borders. South Australia's fruit growing industry needs to be preserved and tighter controls are required to achieve this.
• Prevent development of prime agricultural land into housing. No more development should be permitted outside strict zones around Virginia, Willunga, McLaren Vale and parts of the Hills and southern coast. We would seek to encourage development elsewhere, particularly in rural areas.