THEY are figures bound to ruffle feathers within the wider agriculture industry.
Summed up- horticulture gives more bang for buck when it comes to water usage.
Speaking at the Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) Post Harvest Seminar in Attwood, Victoria in January, CEO and director of Greeneye Markets, Brad Georges addressed the topic of re-engineering post-harvest costs and packing for export.
However it was his comments and figures on comparative water usage that really prompted discussion.
Greeneye Markets works with water and emissions brokers to provide trading systems for water within the Murray Darling Basin, selling and licensing a suite of frequent trader technologies and related intellectual property.
Mr Georges took the opportunity behind the microphone to talk up the positive attributes of horticulture's water use.
There's 30 to 50 times more value added to a megalitre of water than dairy or the pastoral industries and it also creates a lot more employment per hectare as well.
- Brad Georges, Greeneye
"In working with the irrigation and water marketplace, as an economist with a financial background, I really came to understand just how much value horticulture adds to water," he said.
"In fact there's 30 to 50 times more value added to a megalitre of water than dairy or the pastoral industries and it also creates a lot more employment per hectare as well."
His figures showed an orchard provides 20-30 times more employment per hectare than other agriculture industries, while providing 30-50 times more income from export per 100ha.
Another graph indicated orchards provide 50-60 times more income per ML of irrigation water used than dairy or arable production.
"It's a real delight to be here in front of the people, I think, will become the leaders in growing the apple and pear industry for the next 20 years, and maybe seeing that we become a very significant exporter as we are in wheat and sheep and wool and dairy and other industries as well," Mr Georges said.
On the topic of re-engineering post harvest apple processing for export, Mr Georges said a few things needed to happen to firm up overseas markets.
He said removing the use of diphenylamine (DPA), a post harvest dip used to treat scald; moving to mechanised tipping and grading; packing directly into export bins; and storing apples directly into refrigerated transportable units would all assist in securing export markets.
