Science is saving a seat at the table for agriculture

As Growcom’s Project Communications Officer with a previous life in the academy, I attend forums our growers may not have the time or resources to attend. It seems my seat at the recent Australian Academy of Science’s National Symposium, however, may have been better occupied by a grower in the flesh. 

Held for the first time in Brisbane, the academy’s symposium formed part of World Science Festival celebrations and brought together researchers from universities, specialist research institutes, the CSIRO, as well as government representatives to discuss challenges, innovations, and policy implications facing our food systems.

Reassuringly, agriculture was a key area of discussion that sees the sector attempting to balance multiple competing priorities. 

Adam Fennessy, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said that global food systems face a triple challenge of feeding a growing population, doing so while managing environmental concerns, and ensuring ongoing livelihoods from paddock to plate. 

Speakers acknowledged that Australian farmers bore much of this responsibility, cultivating food in a country which has rainfall variability 22 percent higher than anywhere else in the world.  

Secretary Fennessy also pointed out that COVID-19 highlighted supply chain and logistics vulnerabilities, further reinforcing the importance of domestic food production. 

In considering ways to assist farmers, one panel was asked about the implementation of a minimum wage for farmers. Interesting commentary ensued around the fact that such a policy framework would reflect the high value agriculture represents to the economy. 

However, Dr Rohan Nelson explained that although such interventions were explored after World War II, it’s better to empower farmers who understand the risks they face better than anyone else to manage in their own way rather than diminish their agency through imposing a public system. 

“Some of the most sophisticated businesspeople I’ve met are farmers,” Dr Nelson remarked.  

A key takeaway of this event is that not all the issues related to the future of Australian food are confined to agriculture, but the sector’s importance to our nation’s economic, environmental, and physical health were made startingly clear. 

In closing the symposium, co-convenor Professor Christine Beveridge acknowledged farmers’ perspectives would have enhanced the day’s discussions.  

Having attended other food-centric research events that overlooked our farmers, it was refreshing to hear at such a pivotal forum that grower experiences and knowledge are valued and sought from scientists, economists, and policy makers. So don’t be afraid to pull a chair up to the table and make your voice heard.