The high variability in river flow and annual rainfall, which are features of the Australian environment, means that successful ongoing production of crops and pastures is dependent on irrigation.
Vegetables, fruit (including grapes) and sugar cane are the most intensively irrigated crops, with 78%, 70% and 47% respectively of their total growing areas sown being irrigated. However the total area of land irrigated, about 2.4 million hectares in 2000 (table 16.3), represents less than 1% of the total land used for agriculture.
Most irrigated land is located within the confines of the Murray-Darling Basin, which covers parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
16.3 AREA OF CROPS AND PASTURES IRRIGATED - 1999-2000 |
|
| | NSW
’000 ha. | Vic.
’000 ha. | Qld
’000 ha. | SA
’000 ha. | WA
’000 ha. | Tas.
’000 ha. | NT
’000 ha. | ACT
’000 ha. | Aust.
’000 ha. |
|
| Pastures (native or sown) | 265.2 | 504.9 | 53.9 | 57.9 | 10.5 | 28.2 | 4.1 | - | 924.7 |
| Cereals | | | | | | | | | |
| - Rice | 127.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 127.2 |
| - Other cereals | 164.8 | - | - | - | 2.2 | - | - | - | 167.0 |
| - Total cereals | 293.9 | 23.6 | 53.9 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 1.7 | - | - | 379.7 |
| Cotton | 267.5 | - | 148.8 | - | *1.0 | - | - | - | 417.0 |
| Sugar cane cut for crushing | - | - | 200.2 | - | 1.7 | - | - | - | 201.9 |
| Vegetables for human consumption | 13.9 | 21.4 | 27.7 | 11.0 | 7.9 | 17.2 | - | - | 99.2 |
| Fruit (including nuts) | 23.1 | 23.0 | 22.7 | 17.4 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | - | 96.6 |
| Grapevines | 25.4 | 31.0 | 1.8 | 49.6 | 5.1 | - | - | - | 113.6 |
| All other crops | 35.9 | 8.8 | 17.6 | 8.1 | 1.3 | 11.9 | - | - | 83.7 |
 | | | | | | | | | |
| Total area irrigated | 944.1 | 625.8 | 547.8 | 159.1 | 39.2 | 62.1 | 6.0 | - | 2,384.3 |
|
| Source: Agriculture, Australia, 1999-2000 (7113.0). |
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