Help find solutions to waste
Growers are passionate about reducing waste in the banana industry. After all, no one wants to discard fruit they’ve spent the better part of a year growing.
But in order to find more effective and efficient solutions, researchers are trying to quantify fruit wastage right along the supply chain.
As part of the Banana Sector Action Plan, RMIT University and CQ University have put together a short, confidential survey to help inform their analysis.
The waste in banana farming is defined as the difference between the quantities of bananas farmed and harvested verses quantities of bananas sold at the farm gate. Please click on the link below to download the survey (word document).
Completed forms can be returned to: Prem.chhetri@rmit.edu.au
As mentioned above, the information you share will be treated as confidential and the survey does not ask for any personal details.
Growers needed to spread Banana Day message!
To celebrate National Banana Day, Australian Bananas is looking for growers willing to ‘pass the banana’ as part of The Virtual Banana Day Relay.
Australian Bananas has enlisted Olympian Jana Pittman to lead the charge and make bodies right across the country sing. Banana lovers will be asked to grab their favourite fruit and film themselves being active (think skipping, dancing or running), before passing the banana ‘baton’ left or right. Participants will be encouraged to share the footage on social media, using #bananadayrelay for friends, family and followers to join in.
As part of the launch, and to inspire others to get involved, Australian Bananas wants to create a short two-minute video to show how growers are participating, alongside Jana Pittman.
What you need to do: record video content of you holding a banana and being active any way you choose – it could be in the packing shed or the paddock, or it could be your favourite form of exercise. Then, simply pass the banana off to your left or right side. To see an example, check out some tips and upload your file, click here. Please upload before 13 August 2023.
Update to Cairns BOM radar
The Cairns weather radar is currently undergoing an upgrade to improve severe storm prediction and cyclone forecasting, as well as increased accuracy and reliability of the radar under severe weather conditions.
The radar has been offline since 22 May 2023 to allow technicians to complete this work. The Bureau anticipated that the radar upgrade would take approximately 8 weeks to complete, but due to unforeseen delays they now expect the radar to be offline for a further 2 weeks.
The Bureau will notify customers, stakeholders and community when the upgraded radar is returned to service, now estimated to be the week of 14 August 2023.
Member Portal up-and-running
If you’re an ABGC member, you should have recently received details of how you can log in to the new ABGC Member Portal. If you’re having trouble, or need help resetting a password, please contact members@abgc.org.au
Industry map now online
A banana industry map, providing an understanding of the location and extent of all commercial banana plantations in Australia, is now available through the ABGC website: https://abgc.org.au/industry-map/
The map is the result of a project led by the Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre (University of New England) and supported by Hort Innovation.
The map shows summary statistics of different LGAs, as well as a whole-of-country overview. A video demonstrating how to use the map is available via the link above, and there’s a form to fill out if you notice something missing.
No personal information is collected or contained in the map. The Australian Tree Crop Map also covers a range of other tree cops, including citrus, macadamia and avocado.
Save the dates
- NSW Roadshows: Coffs Harbour – Tuesday 5 September | Murwillumbah – Thursday 7 September
- FNQ Field Walk: Friday 22 September at the South Johnstone Research Facility
More details to come from the National Banana Development and Extension Team on both events soon!
Hort Innovation releases new strategy
Hort Innovation has released its 2024-2026 Strategy, a plan aimed at focussing the organisation on industry-wide, grower priorities. View the strategy here.
QLD Government reef web portal
The Queensland Government has launched a new Great Barrier Reef web portal, bringing together all the work to conserve the Reef including actions from landholders.
