Greens pitch for farmers' votes

Greens candidate for the South West Diane Evers urged farming communities to look at the party's credentials as they prepared to vote in this weekend's election.

"Our agriculture policy is a really great plan for farming in WA," Ms Evers said.

"I'd ask any farmer to read through it and talk with me about it.

"If farmers can earn a decent living producing nutritious food, while improving the health of their soil, reducing inputs and gaining in productivity, everyone wins."

Ms Evers, an accountant, said The Greens want resilient, well-serviced rural communities keeping people on the land and providing a future for young people in agriculture.

"Diversity of farming in our communities is where young people find work and the community finds resilience," she said.

"We need to encourage and support innovation in agriculture to broaden the range of produce and add value to it."

Greens WA candidate for Collie-Preston Gordon Tayler said there were many opportunities for WA.

"Opportunities for employment exist not only in agriculture, but also in renewable energy, tourism and forest management," Mr Tayler said.

"Transitioning from coal is inevitable and the time to prepare is now."

The Greens said it encouraged initiatives that increase local product quality and nutritional value, local value-adding and local distribution and promoted agricultural practices that maximise nutrient recycling, water use efficiency and soil health.

The Greens WA policy outlined that rural communities were essential for WA's food security, economy and cultural identity.

The party said it recognises the important role farmers play and that many farmers and pastoralists are practising sustainable farming.

According to its policy, more needed to be done to support farmers' work.

"We support a resilient agricultural sector and support farmers to remain on the land and earn a healthy return on their produce," the policy states.

"Farming practices can have substantial impacts on climate change and many practices need to change in order for farming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and effect upon the environment.

"There are also many opportunities for farmers to be supported to provide climate solutions such as carbon sequestration and biomass production."

The policy states the party would initiate and support legislation and other actions to ensure agricultural land zoning reflects land use capability and protects prime agricultural land and water sources as well as support food growing, trading and processing practices that support local producers and reduce transport, packaging and waste.

It outlines it would support the prevention of any further deregulation, such as has occurred in the dairy industry, and the re-introduction of a moratorium on all genetically modified (GM) crops.

In the absence of a moratorium, it would seek to ensure effective regulation to prevent damage from such crops on non-GM producers and consumers, including ensuring legal liability for producers of GM crops.

It would end the exploration for and extraction of coal-seam, shale or tight gas in WA, given the risks to water, land, communities, tourism and agricultural industries and the climate.

The Greens WA would also support farmers who wish to exclude natural gas projects from their land.

The party plan states it would replace the live animal export industry with a Halal-accredited, chilled and frozen carcass industry.

Ms Evers said she was focused on farmers making a decent living from their land and farming communities becoming more resilient to climate and social changes.

She said the Greens' agricultural policy addressed issues such as soil health improvement, reducing chemical inputs, access to clean water and research into agricultural practises that improve profitability.

"The Greens and farmers share a long-term view for agriculture, we both want sustainable farms growing nutritional food that contributes to and benefits from a strong community and diverse economy," Ms Evers said.

"Agricultural land must be looked after to maintain food security and generate export dollars into the region."

The Greens "want to reverse the downward funding spiral for the Department of Agriculture and Food to bring back research and on-farm assistance to the level of previous years," she said.

"Taking advice from corporations that make and sell the chemical inputs has the same risk as taking advice from financial services trying to sell you their product," Ms Evers said.

"We need a well-funded agricultural department to provide independent advice based on science and that department should not have to be applying to Royalties for Regions to maintain staff."

Ms Evers is an accountant with experience at Albany city council, South Coast NRM and most recently as the State manager of Green Skills Inc, a not for profit organisation which works in the environment and sustainability industry.

Ms Evers has owned a retail business and been on the board of the Great Southern Development Commission, the Wilson Inlet Catchment committee, the Torbay Catchment Group and was an Albany councillor from 1999-2003.

"When in Parliament, I intend to take considerable interest in all large financial transactions of the State government to stem the tide of decreasing debt," Ms Evers said.