This is high on the agenda of the Griffith and District Citrus Growers who had the first official meeting for the year Wednesday night.

The group has welcomed new members to the committee for 2021 with a good mix of experience and youth says group president Vito Mancini.

"I'm really excited about the new committee because we have members from all over the industry, large and small growers and new and veteran growers.

Mr Mancini explained that a number of key issues affecting the future of local producers are firmly on the agenda for 2021's plan, including labour, water and nutrition and irrigation.

"We've decided to narrow our focus on three key areas," Mr Mancini said.

"The first one is labour where we are looking at understanding the restrictions in labour we have at the moment in getting an active workforce."

"Also trying to promote working in the industry not just in regards to Pacific Island schemes but also how do we help build a better picture for the industry."

The dependence of the industry on backpackers and the Pacific Island worker scheme were also discussed with members expressing concerns for how this will be navigated in the future.

"We need to look at not only the current issues like the labour issues as a result of the pandemic but also into the future."

Water, nutrition and irrigation were number two and three on the agenda with Mr Mancini expressing concerns for the Lachlan river and ground water use in the Hillston area that are impacting growers.

"We look at this year and think it's fantastic to have water at 100 per cent but there's also a lot of policies and decisions that are made with poor consultation," he said.

"Growers have requested to facilitate more meetings with experts in the region for how to best use fertilizer and irrigation to maximise productivity."

An exciting collaboration is also scheduled to begin for the group in Spring 2021 with the Department of Primary Industries Mr Mancini explained.

"We were very fortunate that in 2018 we lobbied hard to be able to get the DPI to actually invest with us to develop a concept demonstration of what we expect a farm will look like in 2040," he said.

"In 20 years time we are looking at developing new varieties, new irrigation systems, ways of managing climate and how to manage your workforce in your orchards."

Mr Mancini welcomed the community getting involved in the group in order to build membership numbers.

"Membership is a token gesture to show support that there is value in having a local industry association to fight for local issues," he said.

"The smaller state and regional issues that affect citrus growers are on our radar."

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