[Music plays and a split circle appears and photographs of various CSIRO activities flash through on either side of the circle, and then the circle morphs into the CSIRO logo]
[Image changes to show text on a black screen: CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands, seas and water of Australia, specifically the Alawa, Dalabon, Jawoyn, Mangarrayi, Ngalakgan, Ngandi, Rembarrnga, Warndarrang, Yangman and Yukgul peoples as the Traditional Owners of the lands, seas and waters of the Roper catchment, We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present]
[Images move through to show various aerial views looking down on the Roper River, a side view of the river, and a close view of rushing water in the river, and text appears: The Roper River Catchment, NT]
Narrator: CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency has conducted an extensive study of the potential opportunities and risks for agricultural and water resource development in the Roper catchment of the Northern Territory.
[Images move through to show ferns along the bank of the river, a world globe showing Australia, and the Roper catchment area on the world globe, and text appears: Catchment area 77,400 km2, or 7.74 million hectares, Mean annual rainfall – 792mm]
Like many parts of the Northern Territory, a large portion of the Roper catchment is covered by indigenous held land.
[Images move through to show a view of the Roper catchment, and then lilies growing in the river, and text appears: 45% Aboriginal freehold tenure, 6% national parks]
Indigenous people have continuously occupied and managed the Roper catchment for tens of thousands of years and retained significant and growing rights and interests in land and water resources.
[Images move through to show Brahman cattle moving through the scrub in the catchment, a view looking down on the catchment area, a termite mound, and a view looking down on the river, and text appears: Median annual discharge of Roper River to Gulf of Carpentaria is 4,430GL]
While the Roper’s climate is hot and semi-arid, the Roper River has the third largest median stream flow of any river in the Northern Territory.
[Image changes to show a side view of the river flowing past the camera, and text appears: 33GL of annual licensed groundwater entitlements, 2,040 ha of existing irrigation near Mataranka]
It is relatively undeveloped and existing irrigation in the catchment uses groundwater from the Cambrian limestone aquifer.
[Image changes to show a map of Australia and the camera zooms in on the catchment area on the map, and the area is highlighted in yellow]
The regions that are most suitable for irrigated agriculture are the Sturt Plateau and the heavy alluvial soils of the river frontages along the Roper River and its major tributaries.
[Image changes to show a view of the Roper catchment area, irrigated farms, a close view of red, loamy soil, and a view looking down on trees in the catchment area, and text appears: Potential to irrigate an additional 5,000 to 17,000 ha (0.05 to 0.2% of the catchment area)]
On the Sturt Plateau it is physically possible that groundwater could be used to irrigate between 5,000 to 17,000 additional hectares of red, loamy soils.
[Images move through to show various views of the river water flowing, and then an aerial view of cropping areas]
The actual area would depend upon community and government acceptance of potential changes to groundwater, dependent ecosystems and impacts to existing groundwater users.
[Image changes to show a close view of mango trees, and then the image changes to show a close view of a mango hanging on a tree]
These soils and climate are suitable for a wide range of annual and perennial horticulture and broadacre crops.
[Images move through to show a view looking down on vehicles in amongst the trees, chunks of soil in a container, a male rubbing the wet soil in his hands, and then comparing the soil to a chart, and text appears: Up to 660GL of surface water could irrigate up to 40,000 ha of broadacre crops]
On the heavy alluvial soils along the Roper River and its major tributaries, it is physically possible to extract up to 660GL of surface water.
[Image changes to show the male writing on a tablet, and then the image changes to show a view looking down on hay bales in a paddock]
This could be used to irrigate up to 40,000 hectares of broadacre crops which is equivalent to less than 1% of the total catchment area.
[Image changes to show a close view of stacked hay bales, and then the image changes to show fruit trees in the area]
However, cropping is likely to be limited to mid to late dry season due to flooding and getting vehicle access to these soils.
[Image changes to show cracked soil, and then the image changes to show a tractor in a horticultural crop]
Many of the potential cropping areas are not big enough to be suitable for large scale, irrigated farming due to the braided nature of the river country.
[Image changes to show a tractor pulling a trailer of large crates of produce through a paddock, and then the image changes to show multiple tractors pulling produce trailers in a crop]
Irrigated agriculture in the Roper catchment is only likely to be viable where high prices are matched to high value crops and market advantages for this region.
[Image changes to show a crop of pumpkins in a field]
This makes increasing the scale of these agriculture developments challenging.
[Image changes to show hay bales in a paddock, and then the image changes to show a bare red dirt paddock]
Consistent rain fed cropping is likely to be opportunistic and depends on farmer’s appetite for risk and future local demand.
[Images move through to show a view looking at lilies on the water surface, a water buffalo wiggling its ears, black cockatoos in a tree, a kingfisher type bird in a tree, and a fish swimming in the water]
The Roper River and its tributaries, although not pristine, have many unique characteristics and valuable ecological assets which currently supports existing industries such as commercial and recreational fishing.
[Images move through to show a hand holding a fish and opening its mouth, a small red dragonfly landing on a twig, and a black cockatoo flying off from a tree]
The biophysical resources of the Roper catchment could support irrigated agricultural developments in some areas.
[Images move through of a truck moving through the township of Mataranka, an aerial view looking down on the township of Mataranka, and trees in the catchment area, and text appears: www.csiro.au/roperriver]
The nature and scale of potential future development in these areas will depend upon community and government values and on suitable markets for the products. To find out more about these assessments and the opportunities in Northern Australia visit the website.
[Music plays, and the image changes to show grasses waving in the wind, and text appears: CSIRO is not a development proponent, The aim of this work was to detail the resources of the catchment and to examine the ways in which they might be used, All this information is made public and allows government, the community and prospective developers to work with the information to determine, for themselves, the best way forward based on their respective values]
