Agriculture in NSW has shown resilience, optimism and enthusiasm for farming despite facing drought, floods, fires and a pandemic, according to the latest figures from the annual Performance, Data and Insights report.
NSW Nationals Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW Adam Marshall welcomed the report on Friday, which was also National Ag Day.
“Our farming families have faced some of the most unique and challenging conditions in living memory. Today’s Performance, Data and Insights (PDI) Report proves the state’s farmers did an outstanding job, despite those challenges,” Mr Marshall said.
“Adapting to these challenges, the state’s farmers have produced an estimated total output of $15.7 billion in the 2019-20 financial year. This is an outstanding result and only 1 per cent less than last financial year.
“NSW is privileged to be home to a diverse range of primary industries from beef, dairy and poultry to world-class wool, wheat, cotton and pulses.
“Generally over FY19 we saw high farmgate prices for livestock, with sheep meat and pork showing the highest increases in demand, while crop production was down in all areas except wheat and rice.
“When faced with unprecedented threats, the government was proud to ensure the industry received the support it needed to weather the storms. Through more than $4 billion in drought funding, and $2.3 billion in bushfire recovery initiatives and COVID-19 measures we are already starting to see industry bounce back.
“The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has done an incredible job supporting our primary industries. The Department’s on the ground support for our producers to not only manage the day-to-day challenges of farming but also pandemics and trade disruptions have been greatly appreciated by farmers on the frontline.”
Mr Marshall said the NSW Department of Primary Industries was committed to continuing to increase the value and economic growth of primary industries across NSW which aligns with the DPI Strategic Plan for 2019 to 2023, with the purpose of driving stronger primary industries across NSW.
“We will continue to ensure the DPI has the right priorities in place to deliver our goal to achieve a total primary industries output of $19.3 billion by 2023,” Mr Marshall said.
“This is an ambitious target, however given what we have seen our farmers achieve in tough times, I am very optimistic for primary industries in NSW.”
The 2019/2020 PDI report is available from www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/dpi.
