Hundreds of people sat inside the Sikh Gurduara Sahib Temple in Shepparton on Sunday, listening attentively to a talk about pests that can wreak havoc on local fruit growers.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Following melodic prayers beneath chandeliers and ceiling fans working against the afternoon heat, the local Sikh community learned about the Queensland fruit fly, how to spot it, and the importance of managing it.
“Shepparton is basically the centre for fruit and vegetable growing in Victoria,” Goulburn Murray Valley fruit fly area wide management co-ordinator Ross Abberfield said to the crowd.
“Fruit fly can threaten that,” he said.
“Fruit fly is the world’s worst fruit pest.”
Among other things, educating the community — from backyard growers to people in industry and government — is a big part of Mr Abberfield’s job.
The area wide management program he co-ordinates aims to encourage everyone to take ownership, help identify fruit fly populations, track and manage them, and reduce their impact on horticulture in the area.
Now, as funding for that program dries up, growers in the region are sounding the alarm.
Fruit Growers Victoria and Cobram & District Fruit Growers’ Association warn that fruit fly populations could increase significantly in the next year, spelling disaster for growers in northern Victoria’s food bowl.
The area wide management program for the Goulburn Murray Valley was launched in 2017.
Initial results were positive, according to Mr Abberfield.
He said fruit fly numbers reduced by up to 95 per cent in the first year of the program.
The second year of the program saw a further 60 per cent decrease in fruit fly numbers.
“But then the funding started to reduce after 2020,” Mr Abberfield said.
“With each subsequent reduction (in funding), fruit fly numbers have continued to increase, and in the last 12 months, they’ve increased approximately 100 per cent.”
In June of this year, funding for the area wide management plan is slated to run out altogether.
According to an expert analysis commissioned by the Greater Shepparton City Council, the absence of a management plan could result in an explosion in the Queensland fruit fly population.
The worst-case scenario could see numbers in the Goulburn Murray Valley increase by more than 500 per cent by next year, according to the report.
The best-case would be a roughly 200 per cent increase, the report said.
“I would hate to see the worst-case scenario,” Mr Abberfield said.
“It will devastate horticulture in this region.”
Local grower Gurmeet Singh said if the worst-case scenario did eventuate, it would be alarming.
“You can’t control that,” he said.
“Once they run out of control, you can’t do anything.”
Mr Singh said he had lost fruit to fruit flies in the past.
He wants to see education continued in his community.
“The government would suggest that fruit fly is a cost of production to growers,” Mr Abberfield said during his talk to Sikh community members, many of whom are involved in horticulture in the region.
But Mr Abberfield said that did not factor in the 2.5 million backyard gardens across the state and millions of hectares of public land where fruit fly could potentially thrive.
An area wide management plan is, he contends, the only way to reduce fruit fly.
“Every unmanaged fruit tree, every unmanaged vegetable garden is a breading ground for fruit fly,” he said.
The Queensland fruit fly has been an established pest in Victoria for years, posing a threat to a wide range of fruits and vegetables.
Without renewed funding, the management program will cease all operational aspects on March 31, and will be fully dismantled by the end of June.
The Victorian Government has responded by repeating its statement made in October 2024.
At the time, Agriculture Minister Ros Spence told Country News the responsibility for controlling fruit fly will ‘remain’ with landholders and that the government would refocus resources to protecting industries from the threat of exotic fruit flies.
“These measures will enhance our ability to detect new incursions before they can establish themselves in production areas, while also providing evidence to support domestic and international trade,” Ms Spence said.
“Agriculture Victoria will maintain its commitment to supporting Queensland fruit fly management by facilitating trade and conducting research into better management approaches.”
An AgVic spokesperson said the government had invested $14.28 million between 2021 and 2025 to provide community and regional grants to ‘empower’ industry and home gardeners to embed fruit fly management in their communities.
“The funding has allowed the program to improve community and landholders’ understanding of how to best manage fruit flies on their property, placing them in a good position to limit the impact of the pest moving forward,’ the spokesperson said.
However, many in the region are calling on the government to continue funding the management program.
“The forecasts being made by an expert in fruit fly are really concerning for our region’s economy,” City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said.
“Our municipality is reliant on the success of horticulture, and it is important that the Victorian Government support this program to continue beyond June 2025,” he said.
Senior Journalist