Housing plans will cost SA 57 million loaves of bread a year

The state’s plan to turn farmland into housing will have a staggering impact of our food supply. See why.

Plans to turn hundreds of square kilometres of farm land into houses have the potential to rob the state of 57 million loaves of bread a year, independent analysis shows.

The report, by agricultural analyst Episode 3, says the land in the state government plans currently produced 23,000 tons of wheat, equivalent to 31 loaves for every South Australian, valued at $8.7m annually.

“The evidence is clear - this is not just a planning issue, it’s a food security issue,” Grain Producers SA chief executive Brad Perry said.

The State Government announced in March it would introduce legislation to open up land for 61,000 homes on regions previously protected under an Environment and Food Production Areas Bill.

Grain Producers SA chief executive Brad Perry. Picture: Supplied

The pockets of land, in the Roseworthy, Two Wells, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor and Goolwa areas, lifted housing development bans. The plan was supported in principle by the Liberal Party, who said it would unlock even more land, including an area west of Port Wakefield Rd in the Dublin area.

Mr Perry said the Episode 3 analysis did not consider livestock production, which would also be impacted by the changes.

The analysis found affected cropping land in Roseworthy, Two Wells and Murray Bridge were 33 per cent more productive than the state average.

“These areas are some of our most fertile and productive cropping regions,” Mr Perry said. “Once they’re rezoned to housing, we will lose them forever.

“South Australia cannot afford to sacrifice intergenerational food producing land at the altar of urban sprawl.

“GPSA strongly urges the state government and opposition to reconsider any support for lifting EFPA protections in key grain-growing regions.”

Mr Perry said grain producers impacted by the plans were already dealing with challenges of farming next to housing estates, such as fielding complaints from residents if header lights are shining through windows during harvest.

Planning Minister Nick Champion said the changes to the housing guidelines, to be debated in parliament this week, would not place the state’s food security at risk.

Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia said on the weekend that Liberal Party plans would unlock more land than the Labor proposal while protecting the state’s food production capacity.