NFF welcomes details of emission funding revealed at ag summit

The government has released the details of $63.8 million package to reduce emissions in agriculture and contribute to the whole-of-economy transition to net zero.

The announcement was made at Thursday’s Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Toowoomba, QLD.

The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed the announcement, with NFF Chief Executive Officer, Tony Mahar, on hand to hear the details at the summit.

Mr Mahar said the principles outlined by the ministers today aligned with what the sector had been calling for – close collaboration with the agricultural sector, prioritising food security, and making sure farmland is not a carbon dump for other sectors.

“This is consistent with what the NFF has been seeking as we work towards achieving the ongoing reduction in agricultural emissions trajectory,” he said.

“If we can get this right, there is real potential to unlock opportunities for agriculture and the broader economy and we are heartened to hear Minister Watt share this view.

“This will allow agriculture to be part of the solution to a lower emissions future while giving farmers the tools to become more sustainable and productive.”

The funding includes:

• $28.7 million from 2024-25 to 2027-28 (including $0.9 million ongoing from 2028) to improve greenhouse gas accounting in the agriculture and land sector at the national through to farm level.
  
  
• $30.8 million over 4 years from 2024-25 to 2027-28 to accelerate on-ground action to reduce agriculture and land emissions. This funding will build on the existing Carbon Farming Outreach Program.
  
  
• $4.4 million over 10 years for DAFF to become a partner to the Zero Net Emissions Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). The CRC, to be established on 1 July 2024, will be a major vehicle for long-term research into emission reductions from Australian agriculture.

Minister Watt reaffirmed he would not be setting an emissions reduction target for the agriculture industry. However, he said the government would help the industry contribute to our economy-wide net zero target.

“One of the things that we’ve been hearing a lot from farmers, as I said earlier, is that they’re keen to make changes, they understand we need to make changes,” Mr Watt said.

“They don’t necessarily always know what they need to do, and they don’t really know who they can trust to provide that information. And so that money will go towards trusted organisations that are already in the field, that farmers already work with, who can provide that information about changes they could be making on-farm

“The bulk of the funding in today’s package actually will go towards farmers – on-farm activity to help lift their knowledge, lift their capacity around what they can do on farm to make those adjustments that will help them create lower emissions food.”

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said supply chains, international markets and the finance sector were increasingly requiring farmers to report on their emissions, so providing standardised estimation and reporting frameworks was essential.

“Decarbonisation in the agriculture sector will unlock new opportunities for Australian farmers and landowners,” Minister Bowen said.