Sustainability campaigns look for change in agriculture’s future

GrainGrowers chairman Brett Hosking has weighed in on sustainability and trust projects in agriculture.

GrainGrowers chairman Brett Hosking.

AUSTRALIAN farmers are “missing the point” if they think sustainability and trust projects can prove farmers are simply doing the right thing, says GrainGrowers chairman Brett Hosking.

The grains industry is the latest agricultural sector to develop a “sustainability framework” for managing future risks, with preliminary research released in Canberra this week.

Last week The Weekly Times revealed the farm sector is spending tens of millions of dollars on pro-farmer campaigns designed to retain consumer trust, with more than 50 campaigns under way across Australia to justify and promote agriculture.

Research released last week showed Australian grain growers view the perception of glyphosate as a “potential risk to the industry’s social licence”

The finding coincided with more adverse media on the dangers of glyphosate use to human health.

The grains research pointed to a disconnect between the views of metropolitan and regional communities regarding chemical use in grains, contributing to a potential tightening of regulation and found a potential ban on glyphosate would be “a backward step for production, safety and the environment”.

However, Mr Hosking insisted social licence campaigns more generally were not “tick the box” exercises to demonstrate farmer compliance.

He said they were more to do with challenging where the sector headed next and how grain-growing contributed to society, “not just about producing grain”.

“There is a sense among some growers thinking such work is only about compliance, but it’s actually not,” Mr Hosking said.

“It’s about setting targets for our industry for the future, where we invest our research and development and also examining where the opportunities are for grains to actually grow and prosper.”

Launching the report, federal Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said sustainability was always thought of as land stewardship, but it was “so much more”.

“It’s about looking after our communities and meeting our customer expectations,” she said.

University of Southern Queensland Centre for Sustainable Agriculture director Prof. Geoff Cockfield said surveys had found the public thought well of farmers and the importance of farming.

He said industry campaigns around trust, social licence and sustainability tended to work best when they acknowledged the problem, demonstrated systems for change and publicised and showcased the changes.