Sustainable Ag Summit announced

The government will hold the Sustainable Ag Summit next month, with the vision of creating a plan to help the agriculture sector meet its own climate goals.  

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced that more than 150 farmers, peak agricultural lobby groups, researchers, environmental groups, energy experts and senior departmental staff from around the country will be invited to the summit which will be held at an as yet undisclosed location on the Darling Downs in late May. 

Minister Watt said working with farmers to help them become more sustainable, more profitable and more productive was a core priority for the government. 

“By doing this, we will collectively help secure the future of Australian agriculture, which is good for farmers, good for our economy and good for our environment,” he said. 

Minister Watt said the summit would be a chance for industry to discuss the Ag and Land Sector Decarbonisation Plan, one of six such plans for various industry sectors under the Net Zero 2050 Plan. 

“We will not be setting an emissions reduction target for our agriculture sector, but the sector will need to contribute to achieving our economy-wide emissions reductions targets,” he said. 

“The development of the plan signals our intention to work in partnership with industry, creating a joint vision to create an internationally competitive industry that not only navigates, but thrives, in a low emissions future. 

“Climate change is clearly having an impact on the profitability of producers across the country, with ABARES data showing that changes in seasonal conditions have already reduced average Australian farm profits by an $29,000 over the past 20 years. 

“And as a proud exporting nation, it’s also becoming more and more important from a trade perspective that our industry becomes more sustainable. 

“Through extensive consultation already undertaken by the department, stakeholders have already raised several options for the government to consider. 

“These include issues like investment in research and development, incentives to adopt new technologies and land management practices, building landholder capacity, and establishing standardised approaches to calculating and reporting emissions. 

“Bringing together the leaders of industry for this summit will galvanise the sector around these ideas and chart a unified way forward to achieve productive outcomes.” 

National Farmers’ Federation President, David Jochinke, said collaboration with government and other stakeholders on these issues was critical. 

“Agriculture is incredibly complex and hard to abate,” he said. 

“Achieving net zero as a sector may be beyond what’s technologically possible, so co-designing innovation and research with government needs to be a priority. 

“We look forward to getting stuck into these conversations to help farmers transition to lower emissions and higher profitability.”