vegetablesWA manages two projects delivering extension services to growers in WA.

These services focus on:

• Water use efficiency and soil nutrition management
• Farm biosecurity and pest and disease management
• promoting grower communication with stakeholders
• Vietnamese language assistance

These projects act as a conduit between industry researchers and growers. Providing them one-on-one assistance, introducing them to new research, technologies, on-farm safety, and practices that help with farm, crop and business management.

VegNET (National Vegetable Extension Network) is delivered locally in Western Australia by vegetablesWA through VG21000, funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the vegetable industry levy and funds from the Australian Government.

Regional Development & APC-VPC extension services are part-funded through the APC-VPC (grower fee for service) and Hort Innovation VegNET (VG21000) project.

The Quality Assurance project assists growers with maintaining their high-quality food safety standards. The project provides on-farm consultations and auditing on their chemical handling and food safety standards.

The project enables:

• Pre-audit/post-audit checks and support for vegetable growers
• Freshcare training at a reduced rate
• Communication and information distribution to growers in the event of a food safety crisis

It is paramount Western Australian growers maintain their quality and safety standards, and the Quality Assurance project allows growers to access assistance with these on-farm practices.

vegetablesWA is Western Australia’s peak industry body for vegetable growers. One of our key business areas is policy development and advocacy for local vegetable growers.

vegetablesWA has successfully undertaken advocacy for growers on a range of topics, including water, labour, biosecurity and government red tape policy.

A major challenge for growers can be understanding how to access new markets and making sure they have the right tools to do so.

Our Value Chain program is a free service designed to help link growers to both domestic and export markets. This service also hosts informative workshops and conferences and can assist growers when dealing with government agencies on market issues.

Some of the other areas this service covers:

Quarantine

• Rules and regulations
• Barriers to market entry
• Market access solutions

More information on quarantine rules around exporting from WA: Quarantine WA

Value-adding

• Recommendations of new ways to treat existing produce
• Assistance to diversify products
• International Market Growth
• Practical tools to help growers make connections into international markets
• Determining which markets are right for your product
• Download the Vegetable Industry Export Strategy 2020 Summary here or contact Ausveg export@ausveg.com.au for the full version

For more information on our Value Chain services, contact us.