Future directions for rural industries and rural communities

How can we all work together to make sure that our primary industries and rural and regional areas have the sort of future we all know is possible?

The scale and diversity of our primary industries and of rural and regional Australia is extraordinary. We can start with the simple objective to build a modern Australia with a vibrant and strong future that delivers for families in our primary industries.

The rest of the world is facing the challenges of climate change and a shrinking globe. The countries that get organised first, the countries that get on the front foot, will be the countries that have the opportunity to thrive in the face of those pressures.

Climate change demands cooperation and collaboration. It demands cooperation between industry and government, between the different levels of government and also within government programs.  For example, education and training to make sure we can get better on-farm strategies in dealing with the adaptation involved with climate change. And what sort of measures can be available to assist people in making adjustment decisions?

How can we improve research and development? Climate change and productivity research go hand in hand. It is important that in the process of dealing with climate change, we are constantly driving productivity and constantly getting better outcomes for producers and for everybody who works along that value-chain. 

The shrinking globe, with the increased challenges of trade and the increased competitiveness all our industries are going to face, demands a different approach to policy development.

We need to look at not only the primary producer but the entire value-chain. Where are the best opportunities for productivity growth?   Where along the value chain, whether it’s at the producer end or further along, can we really make some differences in productivity?

And what impact does this have on our rural and regional communities? Sustainable futures must refer also to our social networks and community infrastructure, and we must consider these pathways as an important part of our vision of 2020. 

It may be logistics, it may be international market access, or it may be reforms in technology in looking after the land and the on-farm strategies.  Where can we best drive the further growth in productivity?

Technical market access - What can we do to achieve long-term outcomes to assist our exporters?

Background paper

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