Food boom will be no mining boom
CPD’s Sutainable Economy research director Laura Eadie responded to recent pronouncements from both government and opposition, on making Australia into Asia’s ‘food bowl’, with an opinion editorial, reiterating points in the report published in late 2012, Farming smarter, not harder: securing our agricultural economy.
The article praises the work of some Australian farmers, calls for incentives to enable others to follow suit, but warns of the dangerous likely outcome of a ‘business as usual’ approach.
The forecast jump in demand for food is escalating hopes for a farmer-led boom in the Australian economy. But without nurturing our farmers, soils and landscapes now, it will be a missed opportunity.
