LANDCARE groups have welcomed a funds injection to the tune of $1 billion.
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The announcement was made in the federal budget and helps to sure up the National Landcare Program which has 100,000 volunteers.
It is funding which has been welcomed by groups from one end of the country to the other. During his visit to the Yeoval Show the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, reaffirmed the commitment to supporting strong natural resource management and the environment.
He said the Landcare program continues to focus on practical, on the ground ways to improve issues like soil health, erosion management, water quality and pest control.
“Our farmers manage about 53 per cent of our landmass and with global demand for food and fibre set to double by 2050 it’s important that we keep Landcare front and centre to assist them to manage our natural resources,” he said.
“Every farming family I know wants to pass on their land in better shape than when they got it and our investment through this Budget will help them achieve those goals.
Mr Joyce said the Landcare program would focus on applying well researched and innovative land and water management techniques and tools on the ground, including an Agriculture small grants program and on-going investment in regional delivery.”
LANDCARE NUMERICAL FACTS:
- In Australia, there are around 5400 Landcare groups
- The organisation has 100,000 active volunteers in those groups
- More than 80 per cent of Australian farmers are involved in Landcare
- The annual economic cost of managing pest animals in Australia is estimated at about $1 billion
- The cost of managing weeds in Australia is four times that, at $4 billion
- More than 80 per cent of our mammals and 90 per cent of trees, ferns and shrubs occur nowhere else on earth