Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt failed to attend the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin earlier this month, however Aussie farmers were represented at the event by Victorian young farmer Jamie Pepper.
Mr Pepper, a beef and lamb farmer from Tahara, near Hamilton, Victoria, was one of 21 young farmers from around the world who was invited to write and present a declaration with demands to policymakers, which was jointly developed by the group.
He described the process of writing the declaration – which took place remotely and then in person over multiple days at the event – as “fascinating”.
“Getting 21 people in the room to agree took a lot of negotiation,” he said.
“Young people are the future, policy that is talked about now will affect us more so than the people who are making the decisions, so giving young people a platform to help inform policy decisions can only be a good thing.”
The introduction of the four-page document in part reads: “While the farming community is aging, young people struggle to access land, knowledge, finance and other productive assets. The multiple crises that we are facing remind us that we can no longer afford the ecological and social costs of the current food system: we need to change it to make it more sustainable and more just.”
The declaration was presented to the 61 agriculture ministers assembled for the annual meeting.
Where was Watt?
Mr Watt attended the event in 2023 but was unable to attend this year due to other commitments in his capacity as Minister for Emergency Management.
The assembled ministers unanimously adopted a joint political communiqué in which they undertook to continue the transformation towards sustainable and consequently resilient agriculture and food systems.
Mr Watt’s department confirmed that Australia was broadly supportive of the statement by agriculture ministers, including a commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030.
“We’re deeply aware of, and concerned by, the high levels of food insecurity globally,” Mr Watt said.
“Conflict, disrupted supply chains, climate change and pandemic recovery are all impacting on the ability of the world’s growing population to access the food and nutrition they need and deserve.
“Australia is a strong advocate of maintaining open, transparent and predictable agricultural trade as an important element of improving global food security.”
He said the Commonwealth Government was also responding to growing global food insecurity by providing financial and technical assistance to countries in our region, to help build their long-term food system resilience through climate resilient agriculture.
Young farmer focus
Mr Watt congratulated Mr Pepper for his participation in this year’s GFFA event.
“It’s always great to see Australian farmers on the world stage,” he said.
“We have fantastic young farmers in this country, that are already shaping the future of farming domestically and internationally.”
National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar said it was the first year the organisation had helped send a youth representative to the forum.
He was thrilled that Mr Pepper, Sheep Producers Australia representative on the NFF’s Young Farmer Council, was able to attend and represent Australian farmers.
“Australian agriculture doesn’t stop at the farmgate, it’s a global industry, so it’s incredibly important the industry’s young leaders have the opportunity to learn, contribute and influence the conversations overseas that drive policy and markets,” he said.
“It is the younger generations that will be impacted by today’s policy decisions so empowering them to be a part of the conversation is very important to the NFF.”
Aussie farmers support GFFA statement
Mr Mahar said Minister Watt had to date been very engaged in international forums and in building key bilateral relationships and he was forgiving of his absence from the event.
“Clearly there are sometimes domestic issues that take priority,” he said.
“Being the trade-oriented industry that we are, it is critical that the Government continues to invest in engaging in international agricultural forums,” Mr Mahar said.
Mr Mahar said the NFF valued international dialogue on the future of sustainable food and fibre production, and said the GFFA final statement outlined several principles that broadly align with the NFF’s 2030 Roadmap goals, including wanting to double the number of women in leadership roles in Australian agriculture.
“We are committed to being a world leader in sustainable agriculture, not only with what and how we grow, but also with the people who grow it,” he said.
Berlin in the spotlight
Berlin has recently been plagued with ongoing protests over austerity measures, including farmers angered by rising costs and the phase out a tax break on agricultural diesel in Germany.
Mr Pepper witnessed farmer-led “tractor protests” in action during GFFA and was amazed with the scale and commitment of the protesters.
“The day of the ministers’ meeting there were tractors driving around everywhere,” he said.