“The good times are finally here,” says deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who has opened the year with a bang, calling 2017 the dawn of a “golden era” for Australian agriculture.
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While I love his optimism and hope he is right, I’d like to know more about the details behind the statement. What are the big ticket policies and strategies being developed to drive this “golden era”?
Is there an underpinning masterplan at work, positioning us with the best chance of success or are we relying simply on a mix of spin, hope and the possibilities brought by a burgeoning Asian middle class.
In my neck of the woods in north Queensland, there seems to be a range of policies that undermine the potential for this “golden era” of agriculture. Top of mind is the large buy-up of productive agricultural land for defence purposes.
As we speak, over 23 families are wondering about their long term future in agriculture with their land being targeted for use as a defence training ground.
Down the road, plans are underway for the world’s largest coal mine, again taking agricultural land out of production.
This story is repeated across the country whether it is for national parks, houses, solar farms or other development.
More often than not it is our most productive acreage that is under pressure and while there is no dispute that there are opportunities beyond agriculture, who has their eye on the bigger picture impact of our ever-diminishing agricultural land bank?
Another hurdle in the progression towards this “golden era” is the cap on tangible agricultural development opportunities.
Caps on tree clearing and water access mean even small scale, enterprise-level developments are largely off limits.
Targets of a doubling of agricultural production by 2040 need a focus that includes not only production innovation, but also real opportunities to further develop land and intensify agriculture – a natural resource policy that highlights what can be done, rather what can’t.
This “golden era” has to include better returns for farmers, so greater policy leadership toward a rebalancing of the food value chain is the final hurdle.
Strong consumer demand doesn’t always equate to better farm gate prices .The promotion of cooperative power is one of the strategies that government has talked up to assist farmers become more active in the value chain.
To date however, the enabling cooperative infrastructure that is a reality in many other countries remains a distant possibility.
I hope 2017 brings with it better alignment between big statements and the nitty gritty of government philosophy and policy.
Most great achievements are 1 per cent idea and 99pc implementation. I’d love to see more about the implementation – how is agricultural land going to be protected from competing interests, how can we further develop our land for improved production and how do we get more farmers into the supply chain rather than simply selling to it?
These are the big ticket shifts that will underpin the “golden era” of agriculture, so let’s see more of the detail, the coordinated strategy of levers and incentives that stimulate us all towards greater investment, productivity and opportunity.
- Beef producer and founder of the Beef Co-op Project, Emma Robinson
