Where’s the stimulus cash for our food producers?

I strongly believe food and water security will become one of the defining issues of the 21st century and unless we start treating food production as the cornerstone of any civilised society we are heading for disaster.

The biggest issue arising out of global warming will be food security and how we increase food production. Indeed where will our food come from?

The Coalition believes that it is a fundamental responsibility of Government to guarantee the food security of our nation. We believe that Australia should not only be self sufficient but has a role to play in feeding the world.

Our farmers are already being forced to produce more with less, in particular less water and less arable land. Without increasing public expenditure on R & D to dramatically increase productivity, there is the very real possibility of Australia becoming a net importer of food at a time the world population is set to double and the ravages of global warming are meant to hit us.

News Limited papers recently reported that food imports will reach a record $8.5 billion in 2008-09 (up $1 billion on the previous year), raising fears that Australia is sacrificing economic growth, jobs and food security and threatening food safety. We now import more fruit and vegetables than we export and the question has to be asked, why is Australia importing so much food and who is behind this push?

In 2007 the world’s urban population exceeded the rural population for the first time in history. Australia is already one of the most urbanised nations in the world. In practical terms this means that more than any other point in human history, every family needs a farmer.

Food security has been making headlines around the world, with riots in many developing countries as a direct result of increasing food prices. Just shy of a billion people go hungry every day, yet here in Australia we have a Government that is giving the finger to food security.

What we need is government investment into research on practical measures which will allow our farmers to increase productivity to feed us. For example this involves investment in new plant varieties which are disease resistant and can tolerate drier conditions.

The latest Government report finds graziers will be hit particularly hard by the Rudd Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme and producing beef will be next to impossible with returns expected to drop by 22 percent. Producers of wool, mutton and lambs are also set to take a whopping 17 percent cut to their income.

The amazing thing about this is we are going to destroy our beef industry, yet the global warming zealots are going to do nothing about India, which has a cow herd of more than 250 million. I cannot see the Hindus slaughtering their sacred cows to contain emissions!

An interesting but little known point is that people who have a balanced diet including red meat emit less noxious greenhouse gases than vegetarians who have a diet heavy in pulses and beans. Then again, baked beans do have a certain reputation.

Grain growers aren’t missed either with their income predicted to fall by 14.5 percent. The dairy industry, already struggling because of low export prices, will lose another 11 percent off the bottom line because of the Rudd Government’s emissions tax.

Every family needs a farmer to survive, but no farmer can survive a Rudd Government cut of 22 percent to their bottom line.

The latest Australian National Greenhouse Accounts – National Inventory by Economic Sector released earlier this week paints a very interesting story.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has been doing all of the heavy lifting in reducing the nations greenhouse gases.

Emissions from agriculture, forestry and fishing have declined by 31.9 per cent (70.3 Mt CO2-e) since 1990.

It is the Agriculture sector, which has led the nation in reducing emissions, yet it is the food and fibre industries which will bear the burden of the Rudd Governments ETS.
Agriculture is one of the few bright lights in our economy and the only sector to record any growth in the last quarter yet it has been given the finger by the Rudd Government. The export figures show the minute there’s been a drop of rain our farmers have made use of it.

Without viable productive farmers, food will become prohibitively expensive. Agriculture may not be considered to one of the ‘sexy’ industries but everyone eats roots and leaves.