- Inputs
- This chapter explores the inputs used in Australia’s food production and their potential to impact on the production and availability of food. It discusses the importance of key inputs, such as labour, fuel and fertiliser; the vulnerabilities and risks associated with reliance on imported inputs; issues around local inputs such as energy and water; and the need to protect productive agricultural land.
Vital inputs
4.2Australia’s ability to produce food is dependent on the supply of critical agriculturalinputs. This includes labour, energy, fertiliser, agvet chemicals, functioning freight and logistics, biosecurity, and land. Theinsecurityofsupplyofkeyinputsposesasubstantial risk toAustralia’sagricultural productioncapacity.
4.3The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) noted that there is a reliance on international markets and supply chains by Australian agriculturefor arange of key inputsto agricultural production. Foodproduction capability is impactedby changes in input prices and supply chain disruptions. DAFF stated that over the last two years the cost of fertiliser, chemicals, fuel, and labour has increased, increasingthecost of agricultural production. However, due to high production levels and high prices received for agricultural products, Australian farms generated recordincomes on average in 2021–22.
4.4The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) emphasised that food production in Australia is dependent on the supply of critical agricultural inputs. It stated:
Eachinputsupplychainisplaguedbydifferentrisks,andappropriatesolutionsto mitigatevulnerabilitieswillvary.However,theabsenceofanysingleinputwould poseasubstantialifnotdisastrousrisktoAustralia’sdomesticfoodsecurityand contributiontoglobalfoodsecurity.
4.5A graph from DAFF’s submission shows the estimated aggregate farm cash costs of the key inputs used in farming operations.
Figure 4.1Estimated aggregate farm cash costs, Australia, 2021-22
Source: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Submission 116, p. 12.
4.6Key risks to critical agricultural inputs include:
- Global input shortages.
- Supplychaindisruptions(i.e.,freight,logistics,andlackofadequatesupply chain efficiency/backlog compromising continued and timely input supply).
- Overreliance on overseas labourand expertise.
- Overreliance on the import of key inputs.
- Lack of input market diversification.
- Mr Tony Mahar, Nation Farmers’ Federation CEO, stated that there are a number of actions Australia needs to take to safeguard our domestic food security, including ensuring timely access to critical inputs for farmers and addressing the increasing cost of critical inputs.
Labour – problems and potential solutions
4.8It is widely agreed that a primary risk to Australia’s food security is access to both skilled and unskilled labour. This issue is of concern for both the food supply chain and the farm sector.
4.9Approved Employers of Australia (AEA) recognised that while traditional challenges of attracting and retaining workers are ongoing issues for the agriculture industry, the current labour shortages were severe, large scale and unlikely to be resolved without direct government intervention. According to AEA, labour shortages were one of Australia’s most challenging economic problems. Labour costs represented the largest cost unit in fresh produce businesses, accounting for up to 60 per cent of the total cost of production in some instances. It noted that:
A lack of appropriate labour stifles business output and economic growth. For the horticulture industry, labour shortages can disrupt fresh produce supply, prevent the uptake of new technology and other advancements, and delay growth opportunities.
4.10Furthermore, the AEA argued that:
The development of a productive and returning workforce for the fresh produce industry is therefore critical in terms of ensuring productivity within the industry and efficient production of fresh produce. The horticulture industry is reliant on seasonal and temporary migrant workers to harvest crops.[8]
4.11Similarly, the National Food Supply Chain Alliance (NFSCA) stated:
Australia’s food supply chain has faced significant historical challenges attracting and retaining sufficient labour, with these issues pre-dating the COVID-19 pandemic. The workforce crisis in the food supply chain has been worsened by the pandemic, as the drop-off in global passenger movements has severed access to visiting workers from overseas.
4.12The NFSCA highlighted that Australian farms, processing facilities, and food and retail businesses are currently operating at reduced capacity and estimated that over 172,000 vacancies exist across the supply chain.
4.13This position was supported by the University of Melbourne, which observed the effect that labour shortages have had on various sectors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The University highlighted reductions in fruit and vegetable production and processing (e.g. a lack of labour for fruit picking and warehouse workers), availability of transport and logistics services (lack of truck drivers) and retail services (e.g., slow restocking and sorting).
4.14The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) viewed addressing access to suitable accommodation in key production areas as a key measure to support the industry’s workforce development and improve employment opportunities. The AFPA stated:
While a national issue, the ongoing shortage (and rising cost) of accommodation in regional areas is a major inhibitor to attracting workers. Housing temporary harvest workers is a particular challenge in many growing regions. Solutions to the accommodation challenges in the horticulture sector must be nuanced and focus on delivering scaled, affordable, and fit for purpose accommodation.
4.15The NFF supports improvements to migration settings as a short-term solution to labour shortages but considers that a solution for long-term labour problems could be found through the VET sector and agricultural apprenticeships. It stated:
In the short term, the NFF supports an improvement to the migration settings and enabling broader participation in the workforce for all who are willing and able. Long-term productivity growth will be promoted by successfully skilling Australians through the reform of the VET sector and helping agriculture to be embraced as providing a modern, professional workplace and being an employer of choice. One potential avenue to achieve this would be developing a recognised agriculture apprenticeship seen in the ‘traditional’ trades.[13]
Overseas workers
4.16The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is a circular migration program with Pacific nations, designed with foreign aid objectives to fill workforce gaps in Australia's labour market.
4.17The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) noted that migration plays a key role in the horticulture industry. The expansion of the PALM scheme from 8,000 workers to 20,000 workers in the horticulture industry over recent years clearly demonstrates the importance of migrant workers to the sector. There are now 37,000 PALM workers in Australia and 27,000 of these are employed in the horticulture sector, accounting for at least half of the industry's harvest workforce.
4.18The AFPA called for the expansion of the PALM scheme, coupled with a review of the industry’s visa framework to ensure that the industry can access the right skills and people. It emphasised the need to support ongoing industry growth and continue to provide Australians with fresh fruit and vegetables.
4.19The AFPA highlighted industry support for the introduction of a Harvest Work Visa (HWV) to complement the PALM scheme and other visa pathways, including the Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement (HILA) and Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) pathways. It concluded:
Acknowledging the need for migrant workers in the sector, a fit for purpose visa framework that offers appropriate pathways, protections and regulations is an important way forward in both addressing current workforce shortages, enabling workforce planning and filling skills gaps.
4.20AUSVEG also recognised that PALM workers have been important in filling the harvest workforce gaps, but highlighted difficulties in placing PALM workers due to the required nine-month minimum employment period. AUSVEG noted that a harvest period for a vegetable business often only extends for a few intense months, meaning it cannot provide work for all PALM workers outside of the harvest period. AUSVEG argued that the PALM scheme needed to evolve to meet growers’ short harvest periods and for it to expand beyond the Pacific nations currently involved in the scheme to ensure a long-term sustainable program.
Administrative burden
4.21While the value of the PALM scheme was recognised, some stakeholders expressed concern at the administrative burden attached to the scheme and the restrictions this placed on accessing PALM labour. Ms Claire McClelland, CEO of AFPA, highlighted that alterations to policies and regulations related to labour can significantly influence employment processes and resources within the agriculture industry and, by association, Australia's food security and the price of groceries. Ms McClelland pointed out the recent changes to the PALM scheme as an example:
The changes to the deed and guidelines will affect the operations of the PALM scheme and, if unresolved, will likely reduce industries' access to a substantial source of harvest labour. Further, these changes do little to support and improve worker welfare outcomes; rather, they significantly raise the administrative burden on employers and the costs associated with employing under the scheme without improving worker wages or productivity. These changes are an example of where perceived minor tweaks in policy and programs can have a substantive impact on the industry, putting downward pressure on growers, pushing up costs to consumers and reducing our ability to continue to supply fresh and healthy food to all Australians.
4.22Similarly, AEA supported improvements to administration processes noting that small and medium sized employers struggle to access the PALM scheme due to the administration burden. This had made the cost of the scheme prohibitive for employers. Specifically, AEA stated:
The AEA supports high standards within the Scheme, while also supporting improvement to processes to make administration and management of the Scheme more efficient and cost effective. The focus must be on better outcomes not increasing levels of administrative burden from compliance. As industry we must work with you to improve program and compliance outcomes.
Mobilising the local workforce
4.23In addition to the benefits of migrant labour for the food industry workforce, evidence presented to the Committee highlighted opportunities for mobilising the local workforce, including the use of job hubs and urban farming.
Job Hubs
4.24Having faced significant labour shortages during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tasmanian Government has taken steps to access a reliable agriculture workforce, in particular seasonal workers post COVID-19. The Jobs Tasmania Strategic Plan 2021–2024 involves programs targeting employers and industry to attract and support training and workforce development. It includes a regional jobs network, featuring a collection of jobs hubs across Tasmania. The programs are designed to help connect businesses, stakeholders, and members of the community. Its focus is ‘on trying to get people who aren't yet in the workforce into the workforce, but also to get different levels of government, as well as businesses, to come up with solutions and to connect them with, ultimately, employment’.
4.25The Tasmanian Government reported success in attracting the local workforce to consider and seek work within the agriculture sector. This was achieved by working with industry around a local worker campaign. It stated:
When COVID actually occurred in Tasmania and we experienced these shortages, one of the things that government did was really look at trying to encourage the local workforce to get into the agricultural sector where they hadn't considered that before. The government put a $1.9 million package in place which had that real focus on working with industry around a local worker campaign. That was quite successful for us. We linked it to the Harvest Trail website and encouraged people to actually work in through that mechanism to encourage them to look for work in local areas.
Role of urban farming
4.26There are many benefits of urban farming, not only in food production but also with career opportunities. Canberra urban farmer, Ms Fiona Buining, identified three kinds of urban farming programs and explained how they can benefit career choices and employment opportunities:
- Heart Programs – are paid farm training programs for people with multiple barriers to employment that transform lives through teaching them how to grow food. The employment rate of graduates is over 80% and there is a high return on investment (ROI). The farms provide an oasis and a new beginning, growing people and food.
- Farm incubators – Upon completion of initial farm training, aspiring farmers with a successful business plan join the incubator program where they have affordable access to land and other support to start their own farm enterprise. Incubators hatch successful farm businesses.
- Land-based practicums at universities – land-based courses, from 6 months duration, on existing university farms offering practical experience and training within a theoretical framework. Incorporating partner farms is highly recommended.
- Ms Buining found that all three categories of enterprises ‘provided strong, well-defined vocational pathways with a demonstrable return on investment and high employment rates’. The programs ‘delivered on food justice, were inclusive, connected growers with the community, created a strong local food system and educated the community about the nutritional value of fresh food’. Ms Buining recommended that Heart Programs, Farm Incubators and Land-based Practicums ‘be established in our towns and cities across Australia’.
Skills development and education
4.28The Tasmanian Government recognised the important role skilled labour plays across the entire agriculture industry, highlighting real skill shortages across Tasmania agriculture. The Tasmanian government understands that to build a skilled labour force, skills development and education is required, not only for employees but employers too. Mrs Caroline Brown, Assistant Director, AgriGrowth Tasmania, explained:
We also looked very closely at some of the real skill shortages. It wasn't just about numbers but also skills: for example, artificial insemination technicians, shearers and those kinds of things. We worked really hard with industry to target some training programs that would work for them in the short, medium and longer term, so that building the knowledge and the additional training meant that, in time, hopefully industries would become more self-reliant here in Tasmania rather than having to bring in those skills from interstate.
4.29Sustain detailed how developing workers’ skills and education through TAFE or VET agriculture programs can provide positive outcomes for employees and employers, as well as create workforce opportunities within regional communities. Sustain urged better links between TAFE pathways and universities. This type of coordinated and integrated approach to vocational education, mentoring and pathways would ‘boost workforce development and opportunities for regions and communities’.
Shifting the paradigm—agriculture is more than farming.
4.30Critical to encouraging people to seek out careers in agriculture was shifting perceptions of what working in agriculture involves. Ms Margo Andrae, CEO of Australian Pork Limited, identified the difficulties posed in attracting workers into the meat processing industry. Firstly, the jobs are often in regional Australia, ‘and trying to get people back into our regions is really tough’. Secondly, meat processing is not seen as a ‘sexy job’. Ms Andrae argued:
…we need to reframe how people see our processing plants; that they are a great part of our food supply chain…it's a great job with great conditions, and you can live in a great part of Australia as well.
4.31Mr Luke Bowen, CEO of Cattle Australia, argued that the opportunity to change people’s perceptions of careers in agriculture were already there. Mr Bowen told the Committee, ‘there's certainly a change in people's perception about agriculture and the opportunities that agriculture presents’:
Agriculture isn't perceived as the person in the paddock, in the field type of thing. It's [an] incredibly diverse range of skills, and technology has ballooned to the point where it's bringing a new generation of people into things that never existed before. That's the big opportunity that it presents.
4.32Likewise, Mr Tony Mahar, NFF CEO, highlighted the work being done to shift perceptions of what work in agriculture entails, communicating to both domestic and international workers ‘the attributes of agriculture and living in rural and regional communities’.
Imported inputs
4.33Australian agriculture relies heavily on international markets and supply chains for a range of inputs to agricultural production, food manufacturing and on-farm operations. To generate high levels of production, farmers typically use large amounts of inputs including imported inputs such as fuel and fertilisers. Nutrien Ag Solutions, a leading producer of farm chemicals, observed that without critical inputs such as fertilisers, seed, crop protection products and animal health products, yields would decline, dropping production capacities, resulting in a decline in industry values and economic contribution.
4.34This reliance on international supply chains for essential inputs has been identified as a potential vulnerability in the food supply chain. For example, the NFF argued that ‘Australia’s access to many critical inputs continues to be at the mercy of geopolitical tensions and global supply disruptions, worsened by a general overreliance on imports from very few global trading partners’. The NFF highlighted Australia’s heavy reliance on imported diesel to power on-farm activities, with 90% of the country’s liquid fuel sourced from overseas, and the near crisis over shortages of the diesel fuel additive AdBlue.
4.35Regarding fertiliser imports, the CSIRO stated that:
Australia uses about 5.4 million tonnes of fertilisers each year, of which 50 percent is manufactured in Australia (Fertilizer Australia, 2021). However, over 80 percent of nitrogen fertilisers are currently imported, which poses some risks for timely delivery and exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. Imports of crop protection products have increased more than 4-fold over the past 20 years, with the majority of these produced overseas.
4.36The CSIRO noted that Australia relies on five trading partners for most of its nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertiliser imports. It highlighted the need for growth in Australia’s sovereign capability for fertiliser manufacture to mitigate supply chain issues and rising costs.
4.37The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) advised that the food manufacturing sector is ‘heavily dependent on a wide range of imported food ingredients’, including ‘food additives and processing aids, and other materials critical to the sector such as food packaging and personal protective equipment (PPE)’. The AFGC noted that along with additional costs, the COVID-19 pandemic had revealed input supply chain vulnerabilities of the food and grocery manufacturing sector:
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent international trade disputes have highlighted that international trade can be disrupted by unexpected economic, political and health events. This disruption can impact right across the supply chain from raw materials to final products. In an increasingly difficult geo-political environment, the probability of more disruptive events has increased.
4.38Australia is heavily reliant on imported pesticides, with imports currently accounting for 52 per cent of the Australian market. Domestic manufacture relies on imported ingredients from a small number of nations. Industry body CropLife Australia observed that:
The supply chains for crop protection products are long, encompassing imports through various nations and means. The delivery of these products is extremely time sensitive.
4.39The University of Sydney noted that Australian agriculture’s reliance on overseas inputs has heavily exposed the industry to external influences. For example, ‘a single disruption in urea supply would cripple all of Australia’s grain production capacity and influence other sectors to suffer significant challenges in their ability to produce’.[45]
Addressing vulnerabilities
4.40Changes to farming systems were seen as a means of reducing reliance on imported inputs. With regard to fertilisers and soil nutrients, CSIRO stated:
Improved nutrient and pest management strategies could mitigate costs of fluctuating supply and prices. Current CSIRO research is showing there is significant potential to reverse the high reliance of farming systems on tactical fertiliser or pesticide applications. More consistent and long-term fertiliser strategies, whereby farmers maintain their soils fertility, will reduce spikes in demand and allow farmers to more consistently match crop demand across seasons to maximise their yield potential.
4.41CSIRO also saw scope for changes to pest management to reduce reliance on crop protection chemicals:
Similarly, integrated pest management practices reduce the reliance on specific chemicals to control outbreaks of weeds, pests or diseases. This has the benefit of reducing the risks of lack of supply or exposure to periods of high input prices in particular seasons. There are also many practices and technologies such as precision agriculture, new biological pesticides, fertiliser formulations, and organic amendments that can enable farmers to improve the efficiency of their inputs and reduce losses to the environment…innovative bioeconomy-derived amendment and fertiliser products could play a key role in reducing reliance on imported inputs while improving sustainability of the agricultural sector.
4.42CropLife Australia called for farmers to have predictable, reliable and timely access to the latest safe and proven agricultural technologies and innovations. This is to combat the threat of not only food and nutritional insecurity but the impacts of climate change and increasing production costs. It emphasised that maintaining and strengthening domestic supply chains while remaining internationally competitive and incentivising diversification is critical to achieve Australian and global food security.
4.43The University of Sydney proposed increasing local production of key food supply inputs:
Domestic supply of key inputs should be placed as a high priority to ensure the robustness and resilience of the sector and the ability to adapt to change and priorities. Food and fibre are relatively cheap to Australian consumers and the previous models, which drive prices downwards on the back of decreasing sustainability, will end poorly for the nation.[49]
Scope for local production
4.44There was considerable support for developing sovereign capability in the manufacture of essential inputs. AUSVEG recommended increasing sovereign capability by ‘investing in local manufacturing facilities to develop key inputs such as fertiliser’. The possibilities for local phosphate production were highlighted by Agriflex Pty Ltd and Trigg Minerals. Grain Producers Australia asserted that ‘recent world events highlight the sovereign risks to Australian food production from an over-reliance on imported inputs’. It called for government and private sector collaboration and co-investment to strengthen ‘Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability and ultimately the country’s food security’.
4.45The Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT) signalled ‘the need to establish domestic sovereign manufacturing and infrastructure capabilities to manage input resourcing risks’ across a range of areas, including:
- Agricultural machinery, such as tractors, harvesters, motors, drivetrain and hydraulic equipment (as external factors are limiting access to required machinery from overseas).
- Pesticide and fertiliser manufacturing of active ingredients, (as there is almost no sovereign fertiliser manufacturing capability; rather a complete reliance on imported fertiliser product).
- Secondary processing to increase value, storage life and transportability of food products.
- Local fuel supply and sovereign fuel stocks, including increased renewable fuels including biodiesel for agriculture and critical heavy industry and transport.[54]
- Nufarm, a developer and manufacturer of seeds and crop protection solutions, urged government and private sector collaboration and co-investment. This is to strengthen Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability and ultimately the country’s food security. It noted that ‘securing the supply of Australian-made crop protection products tailored to local conditions will protect valuable crops that produce food, feed, fibre and fuel for local and international markets’.
- The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA)—while supporting local production of imported inputs—cautioned that ‘it will take significant investment in Australia’s workforce, manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure to replicate the quantities required and be commercially viable’. It also noted that ‘in some instances Australia simply doesn’t have the right mix of ingredients or volume (domestically) to decouple from the global supply chain’.
- Similarly, Bayer Australia Limited noted that although there was scope for the local manufacture of agricultural chemicals, ‘most companies in Australia, including Bayer, still need to import most of the raw materials that go into manufacturing’, with most active ingredients and raw materials coming from Europe, North America and China. Even with local manufacturing, the supply chain risk remained. Bayer further observed that local production would require access to enough skilled and unskilled labour.
Local inputs
4.49Local inputs such as land, water and energy are critical to almost every facet of food production, manufacturing, and distribution. Almost all contributors to this inquiry emphasised the importance of local inputs, and the role they play in Australia’s food security. Many stakeholders stressed the point that timely access to affordable and reliable inputs such as land, water, energy and pallets is critical to ensure the nation’s food security.
4.50The University of Melbourne raised concerns about the rising cost of fuel and energy, and potential flow-on effects, stating that Treasury estimates point to a sharp increase in fuel and energy prices for late 2022 and for 2023:[58]
As stated in Treasury notes in budget statement, "[t]his rise in wholesale electricity and gas prices can be expected to flow through to higher consumer prices as wholesale contracts are renewed." The rise in fuel and energy is equal to higher costs of logistics across Australian food supply chains from production to retailing. This will subsequently translate into higher cost of food for consumers.[59]
4.51The AFGC stated that reliable access to cheap locally sourced inputs like gas, electricity and water are also vital to the growing and manufacturing of food. It emphasised that the increasing costs of utilities for manufacturing further strained producers’ ability to be profitable while producing food.
4.52The National Food Supply Chain Alliance observed that in the last twelve months many businesses along the length of Australia’s food supply chains are reporting increases to input costs averaging around 25 per cent while operating on margins of just two per cent. It explained:
Every player in the supply chain is faced with the increasing cost of energy – with wholesale electricity prices more than doubling since 2021, and further increases forecast for 2023. This is particularly acute for energy-intensive food processing and manufacturing businesses, and those in food cold storage, distribution and logistics.
4.53Mrs Andrea Molteno, from the NSW Irrigators’ Council, stressed that water is a crucial input for food and fibre production, emphasising that water resources need to be managed securely, sustainably and productively to ensure Australia's food security. The NSW Irrigator’s Council identified two key water related issues risking national food security. The first is that buybacks have driven increased prices for water, with flow-on increases to food affordability through cost-push inflation. The second is that climate change is already causing a decline in water availability to grow food and fibre.
4.54The AFGC highlighted the importance of pallets and how this intersects with almost every sector across the agriculture industry, calling pallets the backbone of Australian supply chains. It noted that recent pallet shortages have created disruptions along supply chains. The AGFC stated:
The transport of goods around Australia, be it building supplies, medicines or processed foods, use pallets, upon which items are stacked. Pallets are the backbone of Australian supply chains, providing an efficient mechanism to store and move product throughout the supply chain, The impacts of the pandemic have led to a significant structural shift in supply chain management, most notably the move from “just in time” to “just in case” ordering. This has resulted in the demand for pallets outstripping supply. As pallet providers have struggled to meet demand for pallets, major disruptions to the pallet pool are occurring.
Protecting farmland from development
4.55The threat of development, particularly urban encroachment, to Australia’s farmland was highlighted in the evidence presented to the Committee. The NFF stated that ‘prime agricultural land is an invaluable, natural resource that provides the capacity for Australia to meet increasing domestic and global demand for food and fibre’. It argued that ‘non-agricultural on-farm development must be managed in a way so as to complement or coexist with agriculture, not stifle it’. The NFF noted that:
Productive land in high rainfall zones along the coastlines and around cities are now being lost to urban expansion. The development of mines and expansion of onshore gas activities can risk the productivity of agricultural land where there are potentially irreversible impacts on the integrity of soil and water resources. Continued urban expansion and, more recently, the development of solar and wind farms has raised concerns about further losses of prime agricultural land, particularly as many of these developments occur in agricultural areas. This poses a significant challenge to agricultural communities that rely on agriculture for their economic viability.
4.56Sustain highlighted the key issue of urban sprawl being a major contributor to the loss of farmland, related to land use planning and practices. The practice of valuing agricultural land at its highest monetary use—rather than highest productivity—put it at risk from urban development. Sustain stated:
As real estate development encroaches on farmland, it increases the costs and risks of production and drives up land values beyond the reach of producers in surrounding areas. Primary producers have less access to affordable land for farming activities, even on a small-scale (local, regional and city region supply chains). This cycle inevitably pushes productive farmland away from communities and increases the speed of urbanisation. Within farming, functioning of the land market can favour large farmers and leads to land concentration. In parallel, more non-agricultural people and businesses are investing in farmland, which they view as a highly profitable investment. This phenomenon fuels land speculation and, in extreme cases, land grabbing.
4.57The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance emphasised the role of state and local governments in protecting farmland from urban encroachment, arguing that if ‘State and Local Governments continue to allow inappropriate encroachment and urban growth into viable farmland, future generations will become food insecure’. The Alliance considered that ‘a food secure and food sovereign future depends on appropriate planning controls that preserve farmland in perpetuity’.
4.58The Queensland Farmers Federation asserted that protecting prime agricultural land from other forms of development should be a priority of the Australian Government. It argued that ‘we need to look at farming land as one of our biggest assets and continue to derive those biggest assets and protect them’.
4.59The Queensland Government acknowledged the importance of this issue, advising of policies to improve ‘land use coexistence requirements through its planning framework to protect and maintain the regionally significant agricultural land and uses from fragmentation and incompatible non-agricultural development’.
Committee Comment
4.60A productive, efficient and reliable workforce is vital to the food production sector and Australia’s food security. There are opportunities for workforce development both within Australia and externally. Overseas workers play an increasingly critical role in agriculture and food production. COVID-19 highlighted some vulnerabilities in the workforce and its reliance on overseas workers A productive and returning workforce is vital to productivity and a critical input for production. The Committee considers it would be useful to review current administration and reporting requirements for seasonal and harvest work employers, with the view to reducing the administrative burden and making overseas labour more accessible.
4.61Australia needs to support the urban farming sector and promote its work and contribution to food production in Australia. The Committee considers that urban farming can be an entry point to a career in agriculture, provide education and training that moves away from traditional farming methods and provides a more modern approach.
4.62Job hubs bring employers, employees, and industry stakeholders together in a concerted effort to build agriculture labour workforces, fill labour shortages and enhance agricultural careers. Agricultural job hubs can play a vital role in establishing an agricultural labour workforce in general but can also help to find specific labour to fill unique roles and specialised vacancies, and assist with time sensitive seasonal work.
4.63Australian agriculture and food production relies on access and supply of critical inputs such as fuel, land, fertilisers, energy and labour. The Committee notes that these inputs are critical to successful farming operations and the agriculture industry. The absence of these products or supply disruptions of any critical input poses a significant threat to Australia’s agricultural capabilities and food security.
4.64The reliance on imported inputs was raised in the evidence. COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures and international political pressure exposed supply chain vulnerabilities and made clear that Australia’s food production is heavily dependent on some imported inputs such as fuel and fertilisers. Australia needs to examine its domestic agriculture manufacturing capacity and capabilities to address our dependency on imported inputs.
4.65Similarly, the Committee heard about the importance of local inputs, such as land, water, energy and pallets. The Committee notes that the rising prices and lack of availability of local inputs have put further pressures on agricultural producers and manufacturers. Australia needs to ensure that its agricultural producers and manufacturers have continued access to these critical local inputs through innovation and development of alternative products. The Committee considers that local inputs of land and water need to be managed and regulated appropriately to balance access and use between agricultural and non-agricultural operations.
4.66The Committee recommends the Australian Government, in conjunction with State and Territory Governments and industry, develop agriculture job hubs and a regional network engagement and implementation plan.
4.67The Committee recommends the Australian Government, in conjunction with State and Territory Governments and local government, explore options for the development of urban agriculture, in particular as a means for developing skills and encouraging careers in agriculture.
4.68The Committee recommends the Australian Government, in conjunction with industry, review current administration and reporting requirements for seasonal and harvest work employers, with the view to reducing the administrative burden and making use of overseas labour more accessible.
4.69The Committee recommends the Australian government support the development and expansion of the domestic production and manufacturing of essential inputs, such as fertiliser and agricultural chemicals.
4.70The Committee recommends the Australian Government, in conjunction with State, Territory and Local governments, develop a strategic plan to protect agricultural land from urban sprawl and utilisation for non-agricultural purposes.