Production Under Pressure as Conditions Tighten: insights at the AIPH Industry Conference in Sydney

Chris Philpot (The Water Conservancy) and Jack Goossens (AIPH) address delegates at the AIPH Horticultural Industry Conference in Sydney, discussing water management and production challenges. Photo credit: Ludovic Vilbert, Inwardout Studio.

First in a three-part series, insights from the AIPH Horticultural Industry Conference in Sydney reveal how water, climate and plant health are reshaping production.

Water, climate and plant health are tightening the conditions for plant production. For growers, the question is no longer how to optimise production, but how to maintain it.

In Australia, and increasingly across other water-stressed growing regions, water availability is declining, climate patterns are becoming less predictable, and plant health risks are intensifying. These pressures are reshaping how production is planned and managed, pushing growers towards more controlled, system-driven approaches with less room for error.

At the AIPH Horticultural Industry Conference in Sydney on 10 March, this shift was presented not as a future risk, but as a reality already shaping day-to-day decisions.

Water is defining the limits of production

Water is no longer simply a resource to be managed. It is becoming the factor that determines what can be grown, and where.

“The future of horticulture will belong to those who treat water as a strategic asset,” said Chris Philpot, CEO of The Water Conservancy, which focuses on water management and resource efficiency in Australia.

In practice, this shift is already visible in Australia. Growers in water-stressed regions are planning production around available water supply, adjusting crop selection, timing and irrigation strategies accordingly.

“Using water efficiently means less pressure on rivers and groundwater, less energy used for pumping, and fewer nutrients lost through runoff,” Philpot added.

Long-term streamflow data for Perth’s dams, presented by Chris Philpot of The Water Conservancy, highlight the sustained decline in water availability that is shaping production decisions in Australian horticulture. Source: The Water Conservancy (presentation slide).

The discussion that followed made clear that efficiency alone is no longer enough. Technologies such as precision irrigation, soil moisture monitoring and wastewater recycling are becoming standard tools, but they do not remove the underlying constraint of supply.

For growers, this is beginning to influence crop selection, production timing and investment decisions, as water use, energy costs and input efficiency become increasingly linked. The focus is now shifting from optimisation to adaptation.

Biosecurity is increasing the cost of failure

If water is tightening production limits, plant health is raising the consequences of getting it wrong.

In Australia, this is being addressed through structured systems such as BioSecure HACCP, an industry-developed biosecurity programme for plant nurseries and production growers. The system adapts Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to plant production, focusing on the detection, management, and prevention of pest, disease, and weed risks at the source.

Presented by Celeste Cook of Greenlife Industry Australia, it reflects a more proactive approach to plant health by embedding biosecurity into everyday production decisions rather than treating it as a downstream control.

Overview of Australian plant production certification programmes, including BioSecure HACCP, presented by Greenlife Industry Australia, illustrating the structured approach to plant health and nursery standards. Source: GIA (presentation slide)

As plant movements increase, so too does exposure to pests and diseases. What was once a contained production risk is now a system-wide issue, with implications for trade and plant health.

In New Zealand, Matt Dolan, CEO of New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated (NZPPI), described how the PlantPass Certification System was developed in response to repeated biosecurity incursions affecting the sector. The programme sets out structured standards for on-farm hygiene, traceability and risk management, designed to reduce the likelihood of the spread of pests and diseases.

“Certification only works if the industry sees the value in it,” he said, pointing to the challenge of building engagement with system-based approaches.

In the New Zealand context, adoption remains uneven, with only around 85 nurseries participating out of an estimated 250–300 eligible operations, highlighting the gap between what the system is designed to achieve and how widely it has been taken up in practice.

Matt Dolan (NZPPI) introduces the PlantPass certification system, designed to strengthen trust and traceability in New Zealand’s plant supply chain. Photo credit: Ludovic Vilbert, Inwardout Studio.

This points to a broader challenge. While biosecurity systems are becoming increasingly critical to production and trade, their effectiveness still depends on industry engagement and trust, and adoption levels vary significantly across regions.

As these pressures increase, structured biosecurity frameworks and certification systems are becoming essential not only to protect plant health but to maintain the movement of plants in international trade.

From national systems to international consistency

As plant movements increase, the challenge is no longer confined to individual production systems, but to how those systems interact across borders.

In plant health, this is becoming increasingly visible. Differences between national biosecurity approaches can create friction at points of entry, slowing plant movements, triggering additional inspections, and in some cases restricting trade altogether.

Dr Audrey Timm presents findings from AIPH’s global plant health survey, highlighting risks linked to international plant trade.

Presenting findings from AIPH’s global Plant Health Survey, Dr Audrey Timm, Technical Initiatives Manager, outlined how increasing trade and plant movement are exposing gaps between national systems.

The survey, covering 25 countries and 15 horticultural sectors, found that around 78% of respondents identified trade in live plants and cut flowers as the biggest plant health threat.

For growers trading across borders, this is already a familiar pressure point, where inconsistencies between systems can slow plant movements, trigger additional inspections, or lead to tighter restrictions at points of entry.

In response, AIPH has developed a Unified Framework for Plant Health, setting out an externally audited, systems-based approach to managing plant health in ornamental horticulture production.

Presented to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) as an information paper, the framework is now being taken forward through AIPH’s Plant Health Forum, which brings together representatives of existing voluntary standards to support alignment and wider adoption.

“Strong national plant health systems already exist,” said Jack Goossens, AIPH Vice-President and Chair of the Ornamentals Production Committee. “The challenge now is bringing them together into a framework that works internationally.”

The next phase will focus on expanding engagement and exploring pathways for recognition, as the industry works towards greater consistency in plant health approaches across borders.

A more constrained, more deliberate future

Taken together, the discussions in Sydney point to a production environment that is becoming more deliberate and less forgiving.

Water availability is tightening, climate variability is increasing, and biosecurity risks are expanding.

For growers, this means working with tighter margins, where decisions around resources, systems and planning carry greater financial and operational weight.

As keynote speaker Matt Kean, Chair of the Climate Change Authority, stated, responding to climate change is not only an ecological necessity, but an economic one.

Production is now defined less by how much is grown and more by how well risks are managed. Many growers are already making this shift.

More from the AIPH Horticultural Industry Conference

This article forms part of a series exploring key themes emerging from the AIPH Horticultural Industry Conference in Sydney. Further coverage this week will examine how market dynamics are evolving and how industry advocacy is supporting growers in an increasingly complex global environment.