Department of Agriculture

The below overview highlights the Department's key achievements.

A brief history

The early activities by the South Australian Government in the agricultural sector were administered by the Department of Lands. This involved regulation to control the spread of pest animals and plants, as well as livestock and plant diseases.

The first Minister of Agriculture was appointed in 1875. Subsequently, a Royal Commission recommended establishing a Department of Agriculture to collect and disseminate information to people in agricultural, pastoral and horticultural pursuits. At the same time, recommendations were made for building agricultural training facilities and a model farm. Roseworthy Agricultural College was established and took its first students in 1885.

The Central Agricultural Bureau was created in 1888 to advise the Minister, and to encourage improved practices by farmers. In 1902, the SA Department of Agriculture was formed and undertook research through:

• experimental farms
• extension through the Bureau
• regulatory activity to protect the State’s agriculture industries.

The next 50 years saw the modest growth in the Department with an emphasis on pest and disease control, improved productivity and soil conservation. In the post-World War II era, the department grew rapidly and collaboration increased between the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, Roseworthy Agricultural College, the CSIRO, and other partners.

The Agricultural Bureau, along with the Women’s Agricultural Bureau and Rural Youth, have continued to provide a relatively inexpensive yet effective means of informing farmers by developing programs in collaboration with them.

Regulatory activity also continued to be important, for example, the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Program conducted as part of a national scheme successfully wiped out these 2 diseases in South Australia’s cattle herds.

Throughout the Department of Agriculture’s history, the sector's needs have been met through units such as:

• the Rural Assistance Branch, which administered essential Commonwealth finance to farmers
• SAGRIC International, delivering agricultural development services and projects in overseas countries
• the Rural Affairs Unit, which assisted farmers to make difficult adjustment decisions.

In the late 1970s, the Department of Agriculture’s services were regionalised to improve local responsiveness.

Since the early 1990s, there have been a series of agency mergers. On 8 October 1992, the Department of Agriculture merged with other government agencies servicing primary industries to create Primary Industries SA (PISA). This change included formation of a specialised research arm, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). The department later became Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA), and then Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA).

On 30 June 1998, PIRSA launched Rural Solutions, a key business unit providing specialised consultancy services in agriculture, agribusiness, and natural resource management, through its network of 25 country service centres.

Since its formation, the department is justly proud of its record in implementing major improvements in the agricultural sector and boosting the South Australia’s economy. Today, PIRSA is a diverse economic development agency with diverse sections for forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture, food and wine, biosecurity, and emergency recovery.