Ensuring Sustainable Growth: Summerfruit NZ Joins the Plant Pass Operational Agreement, GIA (Government Industry Agreement).
In an effort to strengthen New Zealand's biosecurity measures, Summerfruit NZ has officially partnered with other product groups by signing the Plant Pass GIA Operational Agreement—a move that will support the adoption of good biosecurity practice in plant biosecurity across the industry.
Plant Pass stands as a fundamental safeguard in our broader biosecurity landscape, launched in 2021, Plant Pass is a biosecurity certification scheme that sets standards for the production of nursery stock that has quickly become a key part of our plant health and biosecurity system, offering growers the assurance that their nursery stock originates from trusted, certified producers.
By participating in Plant Pass, nurseries are audited to an industry standard for plant health and biosecurity, covering area like management oversight, production practices, nursery hygiene and crop monitoring. It also includes an independent audit and certification system.
As new pests emerge, new modules help ensure that their training remains current. For example, work is currently underway to develop a system to deal with the risk associated with phony peach disease (Xylella fastidiosa). While currently not present in New Zealand, this disease affects a large number of summerfruit growers globally and is often compared to the Foot and Mouth disease in the horticulture industry.
Using Plant Pass-certified nurseries ensures we are creating a robust defence against unwanted pests and diseases, and we encourage our growers to ask their supplier if they are plant pass certified.