Australian agriculture is way off the pace as it looks to boost farm gate production to $100 billion a year by 2030 and is falling behind major competitors in investment, productivity gains and research, according to a major study into the sector's prospects of reviving the economy in the recovery from COVID-19 .

The Agribusiness Australia-commissioned analysis found the nation's farmers were at least 6.3 per cent below the growth trend required to hit $100 billion by 2030 and in danger of falling down the ranks of the world's leading food and fibre producers.