4 March 2025
The national peak industry organisation for the plant science sector, CropLife Australia, welcomes the announcement of a national Food Security Preparedness Strategy by the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon Julie Collins at the ABARES conference in Canberra this morning. The Feeding Australia $3.5 million pre-election commitment recognises the very real and growing challenge of stability in our food supply, requiring ongoing attention from industry, the community and governments.
“For too long the politics of a full belly in Australia has distracted us from recognising our vulnerabilities, particularly in the area of critical inputs,” said Matthew Cossey, Chief Executive Officer of CropLife Australia, the national peak industry organisation for the plant science sector.
“Recent disruptions have demonstrated how quickly the conditions affecting our agricultural sector and food supply can change. Two years of persistently high food inflation have underscored the need for targeted policies and government investment to support farmers in responding to threats and ensuring a stable food supply to ease cost-of-living pressures.
“CropLife and its members commend Minister Collins for establishing a National Food Council to provide industry expertise and frontline supply chain insights. To be effective, the Council must have the right people and a clear focus on the right things to strengthen food security resilience in both the development and implementation of the strategy.
“We cannot allow such an important function to be high jacked by those who would otherwise undermine meaningful food security resilience with non-scientific and warped food ideologies.
“Industry has long been on the record saying that lack of timely access to, or disruptions in supply of critical inputs poses a significant threat to Australia’s food production capabilities. With 32 per cent of Australians already experiencing food insecurity, even a few days of disruption to food supply is something we cannot afford to continue. Maintaining, strengthening, and de-risking supply chains while remaining internationally competitive and incentivising diversification is needed.
“Building resilience in our food system will require government to permanently supplement industry cost recovery for regulators, like the APVMA. Failing to adequately fund these essential public-good functions risks undermining the commercial incentives needed to develop and deliver key agricultural tools.
“Innovations like modern pesticides and crop biotechnology not only increase the yields on available farming land but also reduce food loss and waste by increasing resilience to pests, disease and climate change – all of which are major threats to food security. Additionally, biotechnology innovation crops will be critical to achieving the Government’s focus on growing biofuels feedstock to support Australia’s transition to net zero.
“Australia must reform its policy settings for agricultural biotechnology to acknowledge the low risk of New Breeding Techniques. This will deliver to the paddock new climate-adapted crop varieties that deliver better environmental outcomes and more sustainable farming.
Today’s announcement highlights the importance of the Food Security Preparedness Green Paper currently being developed by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) to guide government and industry actions in strengthening food production, processing and exports.
“CropLife Australia is pleased to contribute to the development of this Green Paper and welcomes the Government’s recognition of the essential role that innovation and technology play in ensuring stable and sustainable food production” concluded Mr Cossey.
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Media Contact: Elyse Denman | 0459 550 010 | elyse.denman@croplife.org.au