Profit, people, planet
Yes, you read it in the right order.
Forget the 'Triple Bottom Line' of People, Planet and Profit, the only way to view sustainability in agribusiness is with a very clear profit first mentality and mindset. The very straightforward explanation for this order is… without profitability growers cannot adequately support and address the other two. Simple.
Growers well understand the roadblocks to productivity however, due to the issues mentioned below which were taken from an address by Rod Sims in November last year, they rarely feel empowered to do much about it.
“What can a farmer do if their produce is threatened with rejection unless the farmer, having despatched a perishable product at an agreed price, now agrees to lower that price? Or if a major retailer threatens to discontinue buying unless pre agreed terms are changed? What if the only available processor systematically biases against the farmer in terms of animal weight or fat content? Or if payments terms are excessive from the limited number of available buyers?” stated Rod at a National Farmers Federation event.
For those of you who may be wondering why you may know his name, Rod has been described as "the most feared man in Australian business" by the Australian Financial Review, and was the longest serving ACCC chair in the agency's history serving from 1 August 2011 to 20 March 2022.
He went on in his address to explain his views on the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA) stating they are “poorly placed to help you. And such actions damage your ability to plan and invest. Those with market power gain, while farmers and the economy lose. For the good of farmers and the economy I think we need to address such behaviour, and to do so we need an Unfair Practices Provision in the CCA. Other like countries have such a provision; Australia stands out in not having one.”
With supermarket profits in the news, supply chain resilience and food security under inquiry and threat, and a review of the Food and Grocery Code due later in the year, 2023 looks to be a defining year. We are well placed to represent Horticulture in Queensland in this space.
