Australia’s freedom from many of the exotic pests that affect production overseas provides the potato industry with a yield advantage as well as cost of production and trade benefits. Biosecurity planning provides a mechanism for the potato industry, governments, and other stakeholders to assess current biosecurity practices and future biosecurity needs. The identification, prioritisation, and management of key biosecurity risks through the development and implementation of a biosecurity plan are critical industry biosecurity preparedness. When coupled with AUSVEG being a Plant Health Australia (PHA) member and signatory to the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed, biosecurity planning provides the potato industry with a framework for risk mitigation and management of potential incursions.

Biosecurity planning in the potato industry was initiated through the review and development of a Biosecurity Plan (Version 3.0) for the Potato Industry. Through this process, the potato industry identified:

• The highest risk pests to the industry (High Priority Pests or HPPs)
• Risk mitigation activities required to reduce the biosecurity threat, including farm level activities
• Surveillance and diagnostic activities
• Available capacity and capabilities

For the review of the Biosecurity Plan (BP):

• Industry members and scientific experts met via teleconference to identify high priority pests (exotic and established) for the potato industry in March 2017.
• A post border biosecurity capability assessment was undertaken for all high priority pests to inform the development of a biosecurity implementation table of activities to mitigate risk and prepare for response (undertaken by Plant Health Australia in consultation with industry and government).
• A shared approach to implementing the potato biosecurity plan was developed through a meeting of industry, governments and stakeholders in May 2017.
• The Biosecurity Plan for the Potato Industry (Version 3.0) was endorsed at the government level through the Plant Health Committee in December 2018
• The BP was also formally endorsed by the potato industry (through AUSVEG) in January 2019.
• The Biosecurity Plan for the Potato Industry (Version 3.0) was published in early in 2019.

This project also includes the facilitation of annual Biosecurity Reference Panel (BRP) meetings. The BRP has met annually from 2018 to 2020 to review the BP and recommend amendments as pertinent biosecurity information becomes available. The BRP also documented achievements and monitored the progress of actions outlined in the BP implementation table.

The Biosecurity Plan for the Potato Industry (Version 3.2) was published and uploaded to the Biosecurity Preparedness portal on 23rd February 2021.

In addition to the biosecurity planning process, the Potato Grower’s Biosecurity Manual was developed and published in May 2018 and updated (Version 1.1) in August 2018. The manual is a guide for potato growers and the wider industry to identify and institute farm biosecurity practices to prevent and mitigate impacts from pests, diseases and weeds.