IRRIGATORS have 45.6 million reasons to be excited after the government announced additional funding for the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme.
Having previously delivered $2.5m to the feasibility study, a total of $45.6m will get capital works under way as part of the $500m national water infrastructure development fund.
Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce said the project was a win for SA.
“This project will be key to developing greater market access for SA producers to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, the United Arab Emriates, Indonesia and Singapore,” he said.
Irrigated agriculture contributed $1.6 billion to the total value of SA’s $6.2b agricultural production in 2014-15.
And in SA, vegetables are the most valuable irrigated agricultural commodity, with $446m in 2014-15, followed by grapes at $393m.
Ausveg SA state manager Jordan Brooke-Barnett labelled the funding a “once-in-a-generation investment that has the potential to grow our industry into the future”.
“High value horticulture is already worth more than $1b to SA a year at the farmgate and is poised to grow further with these strategic investments,” he said.
The project is estimated to deliver 3700 jobs to prime horticulture growing areas in Adelaide’s north.
It is estimated the development will generate more than half a billion dollars in economic activity.
Assistant Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Anne Ruston said once complete, the project would deliver up to 12 gigalitres in additional recycled water supply each year.
“The Northern Adelaide Plains and adjacent Barossa Valley are premium horticultural and viticultural regions in SA,” she said.
“They have an abundance of suitable land for development, subject to water availability, and the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme will help unlock this potential.”
