AFI Monthly Update: September 2023
Australian Farm Institute
An independent institute leading farm policy discussions for Australian agriculture.
Minister Watt joins AFI conference program
The Australian agricultural landscape is not short of ambitious, well-constructed, goal setting plans and strategies. But do they make sense as a collective? Is the whole more than the sum of the parts? We need a better system to connect these multifaceted initiatives - and we need YOUR INPUT to get us there.
Join Agriculture Minister Murray Watt along with a range of experienced panellists and presenters at the AFI’s Roundtable event on 17 October for a lively discussion on this timely topic – Beyond $100B: Connecting Australia’s Agrifood Strategies.
Publications
AI in Agriculture
As the world faces the monumental challenge of feeding a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050, the agricultural sector must embrace innovative solutions to increase productivity while minimising environmental impact. At the forefront of this revolution is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into farming practices, which has the potential to transform the way we grow our food and manage our resources. The latest edition of AFI Insights tackles this topic, with contributions from Ranveer Chandra , CTO Agri-Food at 微软 and J. Matthew Pryor at Tenacious Ventures . Even ChatGPT weighs in!
Building blocks for farm business success
There is no one critical area which by itself can guarantee intergenerational prosperity in agriculture. A supportive policy environment, the right production techniques, good business structure, careful analysis, and sound investment strategy each contribute towards building farm business success. The latest edition of the Farm Policy Journal seeks to present a holistic view on how wealth is created and protected for future generations of farming families.?
How connected are you to your soil?
Global research has identified five indicators against which soil security can be assessed, one of which is human connectivity. The University of Sydney and AFI are conducting research to gain a better understanding of producers’ relationships with their soil and how this can be measured. This self-assessment evaluation will not only help the research teams with this groundbreaking research on soil science but also provide you a personalised soil connectivity report. Take a look!
Throwback
The AFI has been operating for almost 20 years and in this time has published a wide array of work. Each month we highlight something from the archives…
This month we look back on a discussion paper published in early 2021 authored by Dr Leigh Vial and Andrew Bomm on creative destruction in water markets.
In discussions about the Basin Plan and re-balancing extractive water rights in favour of environmental needs, one key reform has been consistently underestimated in its significant and permanent effect on irrigation industries and communities: separation of water title from land, and its subsequent tradability.
As much as environmental water recovery itself, the trading framework that enabled acquisition from irrigators on fair terms will be the reform that has the greatest enduring effect on irrigation communities. In enabling water to be traded to ‘highest value’ use, the aggregate effects of water recovery and drought have indeed been cushioned by ensuring that what is available in any given season has tended to find its most profitable use.
The authors note that governments across the Murray-Darling Basin need to work out what they are aiming for from this reform process. Is it to keep allowing the market to find balance in the long run and assist affected businesses and communities along the way? Or jettison some market efficiency by limiting water tradability or directing its productive use, to buffer against the rapid changes to water use we are observing?
Read this paper on the AFI website and listen to a podcast episode where AFI Executive Director Richard Heath discusses the topic of the paper with the authors.
Want more access to AFI content? Why not become a member or upgrade your existing benefits? Check out the range of packages available here.