Peter Ombler NZKGI kiwifruit growers

Peter Ombler, chairman of Kiwifruit Vine Health

New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry should be encouraged by the findings of an independent review into the sector’s response to the outbreak of the Psa virus, according Peter Ombler, chairman of Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH).

The report, prepared by the Sapere Research Group and released last week, outlined 11 key recommendations, including a higher level of liaison between the industry and the Ministry for Primary Industries. Ombler said many of the recommendations have already been put in place by the industry and KVH.

“In particular, we are now working much closer with the Ministry for Primary Industries and other industries to ensure we are better prepared going forward,” Ombler explained. “This has been a major focus since KVH was given the mandate to lead wider biosecurity for the industry.”

Other recommendations outlined in the report include the development of an industry response plan and the implementation of best management and hygiene practices for all potential pests.

“The kiwifruit industry was totally ill prepared when Psa-V was found in Te Puke in late 2010,” Sapere’s report concluded. “Even though Psa-V was causing major damage to orchards in Italy where some New Zealand industry members were involved, there was no plan in place to respond should it get to New Zealand. The industry had virtually no experience in dealing with any new serious pest or diseases so it was essentially starting from scratch.”

Sapere carried out the review based on a series of interviews with a broad range of industry and MPI representatives who were present at the time of the incursion. The review was commissioned by the KVH’s board, with Sapere selected following a tender process.Ombler said the aim of the review was to identify lessons learned from the response to the Psa that could be used to support future responses to new pest and disease arrivals.

“The arrival of Psa into New Zealand had a major impact on our industry,” Ombler noted. “While we responded strongly with every resource we had at the time, we were not prepared to deal with such a significant incursion. To ensure we are in a much stronger position for future biosecurity incursions that could harm our industry, we must take forward the learnings from the Psa response.”