The South Australian state government will fund irrigators to the tune of A$67m in an effort to keep the horticulture industry alive, and growers say the water investment will pay off handsomely.
The Riverland region will benefit in particular, according to fruit juice maker Nippy’s managing director Jeff Knispel, who says the funding could generate up to A$1.5bn worth of business, reports Adelaide Now.
“The funding approach is a lot cheaper than letting the industry and community die and resorting to rescue packages,” Mr Knispel said.
“It’s given irrigators with permanent plantings close to the minimum amount required to keep plantings alive.”
Underwriting critical water needs is the aim of the funding programme in an area where irrigators have been facing dwindling water allocations as drought continues. The plan to spend up to A$67m was announced in September.
Growers with less than 15ha of plantings will not be included in the funding.
