A post-conference message from the AIAST President, Mr Geoff Thomas:
A positive repositioning of agriculture in the public mind is critical if we are to meet the challenges we now face.
The recent Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology Conference held in Canberra highlighted the challenges facing agriculture in producing enough food to feed the world.
World population will reach 9 billion by 2050 and requires a doubling of food production if we all eat like we do now. It is not just about feeding people but is a major security issue when one considers that some of the biggest conflicts in world history have been over food or food producing resources such as land and water.
Even Australia is now looking at what its population goal should be although the debate seems to revolve around city impacts, infrastructure, health and social standards rather than about how we will feed them. The appointment of Primary Industry Minister Tony Burke to take responsibility for this area is an encouraging sign.
With the publicity on things like climate change, the importance of food security had been less well publicised, despite the fact Australia has a responsibility to meet the food challenge just as much as it needs to play a role in things like greenhouse gas reduction.
The big challenge is to produce this food with less land and water for agriculture, less and higher costs for fuel and chemicals, in an environment where seasons may become more difficult, and in a way that farmers make a profit and can enjoy a decent standard of living.
To meet the food challenge, Australia needs to continue its proud record of increasing efficiency. That means smarter technologies and systems to increase profitability and the capacity to manage risk, which in turn requires far greater investment in research, development and extension. However governments have reduced investment in this area as they give preference to such things as health, education and welfare. There is a strong tendency to spend public $$ on things which redistribute our wealth rather than create it.
With the emphasis on mining there is a tendency to regard agriculture almost as a sunset industry. Cuts to State Departments of Agriculture are clear evidence of this.
It is time to urgently rethink this approach to investment in agriculture.
Farmers have proven in the past that they can do the job. Agricultural production, until ten years ago, had grown by around 2.5% per annum (which was the highest of any sector apart from telecommunications and information technology) but has flattened off in recent times. This is not just due to drought but there is clear evidence from thorough studies that a major cause of this decline is a drop in R&D investment.
We have been living off of the stock of results from past research and it is now urgent need to replenish that stock.
Farmers are making a huge contribution through their levies but they can only do so much without government support by way of research infrastructure, including a pool of experienced scientists to lead the work. One cannot expect industry to pick up all of these costs given that it is not just farmers but the whole community which benefits.
But winning investment in agricultural R, D & E is not easy in the current political environment and requires a change in approach. We need to stop talking down agriculture. Yes droughts, shortages of irrigation water and EC assistance are all important but we need to produce a more positive image of agriculture in the media. There is nothing to gain in being seen as a mob of whingers.
As an industry we must:
- Establish a clear and single vision for agriculture – at present we have none.
- Adopt a fresh approach to communicating to the public the importance of agriculture to Australia and the world in terms of:
- Meeting the food challenge in terms of volume and food safety
- The role of farmers in managing the environment with 54 percent of our land being managed by farmers, 94 % of who actively undertake natural resource management.
- The role of agriculture in managing green house gases
- The importance of agriculture and related industries which support 1.6 million jobs, 50% 0f which are in the cities.
- Maintaining rural communities which are central to our cultural identity. While the number of farmers has fallen there are still 125,000 farmers dedicated solely to agricultural production, and which in most cases are the mainstay of their community.
This “positive repositioning” of agriculture in the public mind is critical if we are to achieve the attention and level of investment we need to meet the production, environmental and social challenges of which we are an integral part.
Geoff Thomas
National President
Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.
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