Multi-million-dollar fund for SA farming help not used for a decade
SA government's $28m fund for farming assistance not used for a decade
The Rural Industry Adjustment and Development Fund has been in existence since 1985. (ABC Riverland: Shannon Pearce)
In short:
A $28 million fund to assist farmers through industry changes has not been touched by the South Australian government for a decade.
The pool of money was established in the 1980s to provide loans and grants at the discretion of the primary industries and regions minister.
What's next?
Liberal MLC leader Nicola Centofanti is calling for the money to be used to assist the struggling wine industry.
It has been revealed a South Australian government fund of more than $28 million to assist rural industries has sat unused for a decade.
The Rural Industry Adjustment and Development Fund was established in the 1980s to provide loans and grants at the discretion of the primary industries and regions minister.
The money can be used for farm development, changes in farming methods or to undertake a project or research for the benefit of farmers.
Growers in the state's Riverland said they were puzzled as to why the government had not used the funding to support the embattled region, which has hit crisis level after intense drought and poor wine market conditions.
The fund was established through the Rural Industry Adjustment and Development Act 1985. (ABC Riverland: Shannon Pearce)
General manager of CCW Co-operative, a collective of independent Riverland growers, and Glossop wine grape grower Peter Szabo said he was shocked by the unspent funds.
"I was a little bit taken aback there was so much money just sitting around unspent and that this region is so in requirement of some financial assistance," he said.
"This sort of money injected into this region to help us keep our grape growers going and so forth would be just a change that would be fantastic for the entire region.
The fund has grown by $4 million since 2018, with about $1 million generated in interest in both 2024 and 2025, according to the auditor-general's reports.
Wine industry at 'critical junction'
Mr Szabo would like to see the funds help the region transform, including helping growers transition to other crops or out of the wine industry altogether.
"We need to find ways of transitioning to something else and that helps both our irrigation trusts and our local corner stores and retailers and tractor manufacturers and all the rest," he said.
"We've gotten to a point because we've received funding to employ a transformation officer … but it's very, very significant that there is a barrier of capital funds to allow people to transition to other commodities.
Peter Szabo says there is still a need for money to help grape growers through a hard time for the industry. (ABC Rural: Eliza Berlage)
"We are at a critical junction right now and probably 12 months [or] two years too late in seeking funding because a lot of people continue spending their own capital."
While some growers the ABC spoke to, who did not want to comment publicly, were not convinced more money would help due to global market pressures on wine, Loxton North wine grape and citrus grower Peter Hill would like to see it used to entice other industries to the region.
"I think that fund is certainly an opportunity for this region and obviously other agricultural regions in the state as well, but particularly the Riverland while it's suffering this downturn in the wine industry," he said.
Peter Hill says making the fund available would be a big opportunity for the region. (ABC Riverland: Shannon Pearce)
"This region would be ideal for them to relocate to … whether it's a low-interest loan to relocate up here or there was new crops and that was incentivised.
"We need a more diversified region and then we've got less chance of this happening again.
"It's a bit like the wine industry relying on one market like China — as soon as that collapses, we're in strife."
Government says fund is constrained
Primary industries shadow minister Nicola Centofanti, who first highlighted the fund and questioned its lack of use in parliament, said she would like to see the unused money unlocked.
"The fund is sitting there, but at the same time we're not utilising it when growers are facing one of the most challenging periods in living memory," she said.
"The minister's defence has been that the fund isn't fit for purpose and that's why it hasn't been used over the last 10 years. If that is the case, then let's make it fit for purpose."
Nicola Centofanti wants the money to be made available to the state's wine industry. (ABC Riverland: Will Hunter)
The state government said the fund required interest on the loans to increase to commercial rates, which limited its effectiveness.
"If the Liberal Party was even aware the fund existed when they were in office, perhaps this limitation would explain why they did not utilise it at the time," a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said primary industries minister Clare Scriven held two wine industry roundtables in the past 12 months and had reviewed recent funding for the industry and its future priorities.
