The Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA) is a national scheme for production nursery (growers) and growing-media (potting mix) businesses, which operate according to a set of national Best Management Practice guidelines.
The Best Management Practice guidelines are related to industry ‘best practice’ in production management and will improve profitability. This is a voluntary scheme.
The NIASA scheme is managed and directed by the National Accreditation Committee and controlled locally by technical committees. Day-to-day operations are managed by NGIV Nursery Industry Development Officer Robert Chin and Rachel Condon.
The scheme has developed over the years and since 1993 been a national initiative. It focuses on a wide range of issues within three main categories; crop hygiene, crop management practices and general site management.
Crop hygiene covers areas such as prevention of root diseases, use of water and growing media, plant handling, monitoring of motherstock plants and the hygiene of tools, workstations, machinery and footwear. It also covers waste and restricted access, including quarantine areas, floors and pathways and a wide range of other topics.
Crop management practices look at water, irrigation and humidity along with a number of other issues such as light, wind control, temperature, plant nutrition, structures, root binding, appearance and staff facilities.
Site management is also one of the cornerstones in the accreditation scheme. Training of staff and continuously improving the site is vital to the success of the business. To obtain accreditation, businesses are therefore also judged on their environmental performance, the service offered to customers and product quality.
For further information abou the NIASA program, please contact Robert Chin or Anthony Curnow via email or on 03 9576 0599.