AUSTRALIA’S chief scientist Alan Finkel says there are ‘boundless plains’ for agriculture including boosting yields, boosting dollar returns and focusing on selling what farmers know, as well as what they grow.
Dr Finkel was a guest speaker at the Ag Institute conference held at the Waite campus on Friday.
“We’ve cracked the challenge of farming in six different climatic zones, from temperate to equatorial to desert,” he said.
“So why not profit from that expertise and win investment at the same time in local research, local skills and local firms?”
Dr Finkel said there was limited room to expand agricultural area in Australia.
“The land and water resources available in southern Australia is almost fully developed,” he said.
“There’s some opportunities for further irrigation in Tasmania, but not much more.”
But, he still believed further productivity gains could be made.
“In the late 19th century yields were generally half a tonne to the hectare, now the average is three times as much,” he said.
“In the CSIRO we’ve getting yields of 4.5t/ha through better weed control, crop rotation with canola and sowing in April.”
The other main opportunity area was selling Australia’s vast farming knowledge to the world.
“The world wants to farm smarter, and it has to,” he said.
“If we think big I believe there’s boundless plains for agriculture.”
Another guest speaker University of Adelaide head of the school of agriculture, food and wine Professor Mike Keller and he said it was crucial reforms like Gonski were supported.
“It’s not a cost to the economy, it’s an investment in the future,” he said.
Federal Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey was another guest speaker.
He called for the moratorium on growing genetically modified crops to be lifted in SA and Tasmania, to bring all of Australia in line.
“You just need to look at the cotton industry and the success they’ve had using GM technology,” he said.
“They’ve cut their chemical use by 97 per cent, while achieving yields three times what they previously were.”
A new chairman of the Ag Institute of Australia was appointed at the organisation’s conference.
Andrew Bishop is the chief plant health manager for the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment in Tas.
He said taking the helm of the organisation at a time of such innovation in the sector was an honour.
“It’s an exciting time in agriculture, as was made obvious by our guest speakers discussing innovation in all aspects of agriculture at our conference,” he said.
“We heard from both ends of the innovation pipeline, from policy to on-farm benefits, it certainly highlighted the challenges and, more importantly, the opportunities ahead.
Mr Bishop said one of the areas the institute would continue to work on was getting more interest in professional accreditation for agricultural consultants.
In 2012, the institute set up a national accreditation scheme for professionals in the agriculture and natural resource sectors, but the uptake has been slow.
“Looking to the future, conditions may change and there may be a time where this accreditation is needed, and the institute is in a good place to provide this professional accreditation product,” he said.
Ag Institute’s Geoff Thomas, who was made a life member of the organisation at the conference, said there were few industries that did not require such a standard.
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