Jeff Kennett: We must act before international pirates steal our farms, control our agriculture

Australians have to be prepared to pay more if we want our fruit and vegetable farmers to survive — or soon we will be at the mercy of overseas companies for the food we require as a nation.

It will not be long before Australia is no longer self-sufficient in growing or owning the food production our population of 27 million require for normal consumption.

Either our farmers will have stopped growing sufficient fruit and vegetables, or those products will still be grown in Australia but owned by overseas companies or super funds.

In short, prices for our most basic of food needs will continue to rise as supply declines or overseas organisations put their priorities above the needs of Australians.

Every Australian should be alarmed, but it has been a change that has been taking place for at least a decade, and no government, federal or state, individually or collectively, have given a damn.

As long ago as 1996 the late Richard Pratt and I started advocating the need for Australia to have a national Water and Agriculture policy.

Neither has been given the policy priority it deserves.

Costs such as labour, energy, insurance, transport, workers compensation and fertilisers add to that the ever-present risk of droughts, fire and floods. Picture: Supplied

The Senate Inquiry into prices charged by our major supermarkets is giving rise to publicity about the challenges facing our farmers.

But price differences between the farm gate prices farmers get for their products, and what their products are sold for in supermarkets, are only part of the issue.

Generations of family farmers are leaving the industry because of the lack of returns, input costs, the effort to farm, and prices they are being offered for their land.

Costs such as labour, energy, insurance, transport, workers compensation and fertilisers add to that the ever-present risk of droughts, fire and floods.

Some are selling out because their children are not interested in continuing the lifestyle of their parents.

Some because overseas companies or superannuation funds are purchasing their farms at very attractive prices, in many cases just for access to the land.

Travel to Rutherglen or towards Griffith and see the hundreds of acres that have been turned into solar farms. Land that was for agriculture, for cattle, sheep and plantations of fruit and vegetables.

What will happen when countries that are increasingly supplying our basic food requirements have a climatic event or get better prices elsewhere? Picture: Glenn Hampson

You can’t blame a farmer for saying enough is enough when so many are going to the wall, and they are being offered considerable sums to sell.

Pity the smaller farmers for whom there is no buyer of their property.

But what about the national interest?

Australia is going to have to import more and more of our basic foods. And we

are increasingly reliant on other countries for our basic needs of food, cars, petrol, whitegoods and phones.

What will happen when those countries that are increasingly supplying our basic food requirements have a climatic event or get better prices for their production elsewhere?

Don’t worry about the prices we are paying now; they will considerably increase as we lose the ability to feed ourselves.

The Costa group was recently sold to a North American based consortium, Brazil’s JBS own 25 per cent of Australia’s beef industry, Montagues a very large grower of apples has sold majority ownership to a Canadian Pension Fund.

The list goes on.

Yes, supermarkets might have to pay more for their fruit and vegetables, but between the farm gate and the supermarket there are many handlers and processors, who all employ people and experience the same increased costs as farmers.

If we, the customers, want our farmers of fruit and vegetables to be paid more for their products, we will have to be prepared to pay more.

If we, the customers, want our farmers of fruit and vegetables to be paid more for their products, we will have to be prepared to pay more. Picture: Brendan Radke

Yes, supermarkets may be able to cut their costs slightly, but it is the total chain of costs that are reflected in the prices we pay.

And how long do you think we the customer will pay higher prices to help our farmers? We say we will, but after a while so many out of need will revert to cheaper products, which will increasingly be imported.

Because I believe in the wholesomeness of our farmers and things Australian, 18 months ago I agreed to become chairman of The Original Juice Co, an Australian company that buys oranges, apples, pears and grapefruit from Australian growers mainly in Victoria and NSW.

We convert that fruit into juices and sell them through our supermarkets and convenience stores.

It is a tough gig. Floods reduced the supply of fruit, costs such as energy, transport, workers compensation and labour are at an all-time high.

But we Australians must fight back against the international pirates that are taking control of our agricultural interests. Sadly, it might already be too late.

Australia might no longer be self-sufficient in the food we require as a nation.

The issue is much bigger than what supermarkets charge, it is increasingly about who owns our agricultural assets and what they will charge us, and to whom they will sell their production in the future.

Have a good day.

Jeff Kennett is a former Premier of Victoria