The National Mission for Future Crop and Community Resilience

Abstract

Australia’s rural communities are facing unprecedented challenges, with many communities already experiencing depopulation, declining participation in agricultural education and jobs, poor health outcomes, and poor rates of return for the majority of farm businesses. They are also having to adjust to shifts in seasonal climate – shifts that are likely to become more acute in the coming decades. These challenges threaten the resilience, stability and growth of crop-growing communities. A cornerstone of Australia’s agricultural R&D strategy are investments that target the profitability and sustainability of today’s farmers. While these investments can, and do, target the near-term needs of industry, the requirement to return value to today’s farmers means that there is limited ability to invest in long-term, transformational projects. Similarly, the Federal Government’s National Agricultural Innovation Agenda is focused on near-term projects that promote adoption, commercialisation and extension; achieving greater impact from the research knowledge that already exists, or will soon exist, is a key aspect of this agenda. This agenda does not target the long-term needs of future generations of Australian farmers. Increased competition and productivity in the international market – combined with the impacts of changing climates on productivity growth and increased public concerns about novel agricultural methods - means that much higher levels of biological, technological and social innovation are needed if Australia is to secure the long-term future of the cropping sector. New forms of innovation are also needed to help agriculture meet the Australian Government’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and to increase our nation’s annual agricultural output to $100 billion by 2030. By developing a new approach to agricultural R&D - targeting intergenerational challenges – our children will have the tools needed to farm profitably and sustainably. Show more