NFF president David Jochinke.

NATIONAL Farmers Federation president David Jochinke believes agriculture should have faith in the Federal Government’s economic reform roundtable process, but says it is not the endgame.

But Mr Jochinke said the agenda of last week’s ag roundtable appeared to be pre-set and the ability to put fresh agendas around the few themes discussed would have to be left to a separate process.

He said more than 70 submissions were made to the roundtable, with 50 getting representation.

Mr Jochinke said the ag roundtable settled on discussions about the efficiency of industry policy and regulation, how to support emerging and established industries and productivity infrastructure.

He said some NFF members’ submissions to the roundtable did align with the discussion points.

“But what I am suggesting is that there is a lot to be done and we can’t rely solely on this process to have our voice heard.”

Mr Jochinke said he hoped to use the discussion paper from the ag roundtable at this week’s economic roundtable, ”as a part of a suite of things that I want to raise.”

On whether the ag roundtable was worth it, Mr Jochinke said: “You had to be there, but there is another step to this game.

“It wasn’t the end game today, but industry had to be there to show unity, but also if we want to work with government we’ve got to participate in government process.”

Mr Jochinke said there needed to have been more time to debate the bigger issues, especially what defines productivity.

“I agree with the themes that were there, but I think there was more to it when we come to ‘what should government be trying to achieve if they are talking about economic reform that is going to drive innovation or productivity.’”

“The word productivity means different things to different people.”

Mr Jpochinke said the ag industry was asked to participate and had done so in good faith.

“Now we need the process to step up to the plate and demonstrate that they do care about agriculture.”

Mr Jochinke said agriculture had some big agenda items that needed to be dealt with collectively with the government.

“And they can’t do it from Canberra, they need industry to help support them.

“If they are actually about producing more and about giving industry the ability to grow, they need industry to drive this,” he said.

“So they need to do more collective work with industry and noting previous industry consultations have outlined a lot of this already.”

Sheep Producers Australia calls for action

Sheep Producers Australia chief executive officer Bonnie Skinner also attended the ag roundtable and told Sheep Central discussions about agricultural productivity are valuable when they lead to action.

“Sheep Producers Australia is focused on ensuring priorities raised through the roundtable translate into real outcomes, especially as ABARES data shows sheep industry productivity has averaged just 0.5 percent annual growth.

“This consultation was an opportunity to raise long-standing issues such as regulatory burden and duplication and a lack of critical infrastructure,” she said.

“We look forward to the Agriculture Minister advocating for the sector on the advice of bodies like SPA and others in the upcoming economic reform roundtable.

“Strong Federal Government leadership is essential because the levers that drive productivity such as infrastructure, workforce development, regulation, trade and innovation span multiple portfolios and require national coordination,” Ms Skinner said.

WoolProducers wants market access and diversification support

WoolProducers Australia chief executive officer Jo Hall said the peak grower body provided input into the Productivity Commission: 5 Pillars of Productivity consultation and the Agricultural Productivity Issues Paper process, along with attending the Agricultural Productivity Roundtable on 12 August.

“The main themes that WoolProducers raised on behalf of wool growers included enhancing market access and diversification, increasing profitability through enhanced productivity and the need for greater alignment and returns on industry and government investment into research and development.”

Ms Hall said WoolProducers viewed the roundtable as an early part of the Federal Government’s process to address productivity.

“Given the limited time allocated for the workshop and diverse range of stakeholders in attendance, there was not the opportunity to drill into industry specific needs or requests.

“However, in wrapping up the roundtable the Minister did assure attendees that the priorities raised by the ag sector will not be forgotten by the government.”

Ms Hall said WoolProducers will continue to participate in all relevant government processes to ensure that the interests of wool growers are considered by governments.

She said the most logical area of government investment for the wool industry is in supporting market access and diversification to boost competition and productivity.

“Our submission directly addressed how the Australian wool industry can enhance its “growth mindset,” drawing extensively on the findings of the Australian Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) Program funded report, “Ensuring a sustainable future for Australia’s wool supply chain,” undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics which provides a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and necessities for broadening our export horizons, including the establishment of the Wool Trade Policy Office.

“Other areas of focus include the need for more strategic alignment of research and development, with a focus on enhancing on-farm productivity to offset increasing cost of production, something which is currently hurting the wool industry,” she said.

“For example, since 2000, Australian agriculture has on average had a 0.74pc annual productivity growth rate, while the sheep industry during the same period has had a productivity growth rate of just 0.3pc – this has to be addressed.”

The Treasurer’s Economic Reform Roundtable process continues this week from August 19–21.