The New Zealand government will invest NZ$18.4 in biosecurity over four years as part of its 2017 budget.
The boost in operating funding will be put towards managing biosecurity risk off-shore and increasing public awareness of biosecurity risks to New Zealanders.
New Zealand minister for primary industries, Nathan Guy, said biosecurity is his number one priority.
“The primary sector is the backbone of our economy. Unwanted pests and diseases have the potential to cause major damage to our producers,” Guy said in a statement released 25 May.
“There are increasing demands on our biosecurity system because a growing economy means more people are travelling here and trade volumes are increasing.
“These new initiatives will help us prepare for this challenge and implement the Biosecurity 2025 Direction Statement, which was publicly released last year and sets out a long-term vision for protecting New Zealand.”
Guy said the funding would also be used to develop new tools to detect and eradicate pests, including sonar scanning of vessel hulls and automatic acoustic traps.
The new programmes will add to the additional 50 biosecurity staff and 20 detector dog teams that employed the ministry in recent years.
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