Tomato growers will rally at Parliament House and give away their produce in protest against virus backlash

Tomato growers are so angry at the authorities’ response to a new virus they will rally at Parliament House – and they’re planning a quirky stunt to make their point.

Tomato growers will rally on the steps of Parliament House on Thursday and give away their produce to raise awareness about their plight as they battle to overcome the detection of an infectious virus in SA farms.

The growers have called for Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven to step in and help as they strive to overcome plummeting revenue and frustrating test delays since tomato brown rugose fruit virus was first detected in August.

Grower Tony Sacca said dozens of growers were still awaiting test results for the virus, also known as ToBRFV, so they could be cleared to sell into Queensland and WA.

The two states have banned the importation of tomatoes, capsicums and chillies from any SA producer whose farms have not been cleared by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA).

Tomato grower Tony Sacca slammed Ms Scriven’s response to the crisis. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Mr Sacca said the PIRSA-co-ordinated testing had so far cleared only three farms, and many had been waiting more than a month for their results.

SA farmers traditionally produce more than 60 per cent of the nation’s tomatoes in summer. The WA and Qld restrictions have caused a glut in tomatoes in all other states, meaning the income SA growers not cleared to sell in NSW and Qld has nosedived.

Mr Sacca said some farmers were being forced to sell tomatoes for $5 per 10kg box when they needed $18 per box to break even.

“This current disaster will change the industry very quickly,” Mr Sacca said.

“Smaller husband and wife growers will be eliminated, unfortunately … and the price of tomatoes is going to skyrocket, because there will be less growers.”

Producers have slammed the handling of the crisis, especially by PIRSA and the state government.

They say the response, which has centred on eradication rather than containment, has been too harsh and have slammed the long delays on test results.

Mr Sacca, who runs one of the three farms cleared to sell to Queensland and WA, said the response had caused an “economic disaster” and compared it with the early days of Covid.

The growers plan to donate boxes of tomatoes to Foodbank at Thursday’s rally in a symbolic gesture to show the price has fallen so low it has become uneconomical to sell them.

Mr Sacca slammed Ms Scriven’s response to the crisis.

“You’d think that a primary industries minister, with this devastation, would actually make an appearance just to say look, we’re here, we’re willing to support,” he said.

Opposition primary industries spokeswoman Nicola Centofanti said growers were right to feel let down by the government and the buck stopped with the minister.

But Ms Scriven said the decision to pursue an eradication strategy was a national one and was backed by the South Australian Horticulture Coalition and AusVeg SA.

“If South Australia went alone and decided to move to a management approach with the virus, all other state jurisdictions would put immediate orders on SA tomato growers prohibiting the movement of fruit into other states which puts at risk the $230 million tomato, capsicum and chilli industry here in South Australia,” she said.

Horticulture Coalition of South Australia founder Trevor Ranford called for unity from growers and backed the reaction from PIRSA.