Everyone connected to the kiwifruit industry can help protect what we’ve got and keep unwanted pests and diseases away.

A new booklet from KVH provides guidance about how everyone in or close to the kiwifruit community can help identify biosecurity risks and address them. The bright, colourful guide is split into four easy sections detailing how everyone can:

1. Keep watch (what to look out for and what big biosecurity responses cost if we don’t keep our eyes and ears peeled)

2. Check and clean (how to look out for new pests on orchards or in gardens)

3. Report the unusual (how to make a report and what happens next)

4. Lead by example (what everyone can do at work, home and school to always be biosecurity aware).

The importance and enormity of the biosecurity task means that it is vital everyone pitches in and has accountability for keeping out pest and disease threats that could severely impact the kiwifruit industry and have flow-on effects for our livelihoods, and our communities. If the next big threat is here, undetected and spreading everyone has the power to protect what we’ve got with the easy steps covered in this booklet.

The Kiwifruit Community Biosecurity Booklet is free and available from KVH website and will be distributed at ongoing industry events, as well as during community initiatives in growing regions such as the upcoming Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital Biosecurity week.