A national extension program is equipping the banana industry with the information and networking opportunities needed to improve their management practices.

The investment National banana development and extension program (BA19004) is tasked with helping deliver the outcomes of levy-funded and other R&D back to the banana industry, to help growers access and implement new information, technologies and approaches, and make better decisions for their businesses.

This project has two components working closely together to form a national program: a tropical component specific to the Queensland banana industry, and a subtropical one for New South Wales and Western Australian production regions. It is delivered by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland (for the tropical component) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (for the subtropical component).

The program’s activities involve industry development officers who deliver…

• The Better Bananas website, com.au
• National banana roadshow events, held biennially
• Field walks and industry workshops
• Industry meetings and tours, including NextGen young banana grower group activities
• Grower training activities
• Resources, including fact sheets, videos and articles for Australian Bananas magazine
• Direct engagement with growers and others in the banana supply chain
• Innovative field trials and other research activities.

Meet Andrew Serra, banana grower from Tolga in Far North Queensland

Andrew Serra is a third-generation grower working at his family business, Serra Farming, with his wife, three children, parents, and four brothers. They have three farms totalling 200 hectares near Tolga in Far North Queensland. Serra Farming has been growing Cavendish bananas for 10 years and Hass and Shepard avocados for eight years.

Why do you participate in the extension program?

“I’ve participated in as many extension events on offer as I can. I believe you only get out what you put in. Sharing knowledge and experience formally or informally at extension events helps build your network. If you give, others see this, and it builds trust and information is shared back. Networking and learning from others are critical. It can be a shortcut to the best way to do things, saving a longer journey and giving a better outcome.”

What have you learned?

“That you only get out what you put in; you always take something useful away from an event and networking. It can be hard to make the time to participate in industry activities, but you always get back more than the few hours you put in.

Participating in the NextGen activities has provided the opportunity to get to know the next generation of forward-thinking growers in the industry. The banana industry roadshows are a great way for our business to keep abreast with the current research and development and get a competitive advantage.

The biosecurity field events, information and resources made available to our industry through this program, enable us to make informed decisions about what will work best for our business by incorporating others’ knowledge and experiences”.

What is the benefit of being involved with the project?

“About 90-95 per cent of our farm practices have been adopted based on what we have learnt from other farmers. This includes crop management practices, shed set-up and operations and biosecurity management. There are heaps of different ways to any given aspect of farm management.

Sometimes you do not need to try things for yourself because you can learn from others’ experiences and what they have successfully implemented. Hopefully my involvement in extension activities can give similar benefits to others.”