Farmers are set to receive a $68 million investment from the government for agriculture tracing systems which will increase revenue on food exportation over the coming years.
Late last week the government announced that the Australian agricultural company will receive a significant investment into agricultural traceability which according to the press release will “increase export value and mitigate biosecurity risk”. The investment is set to bring $100 billion worth of farmgate value by 2030.
The framework for the investment was proposed in early 2018 and underwent rigorous research and industry consultation over the past four years in order to be approved. The Australian government stated that the funding is needed so that Australian farmers can be compensated for their premium products.
“Australian producers could already be meeting consumer demands but are not capturing the premium on offer as they lack the data, systems or infrastructure to verify claims that they could make to meet standards, such as production standards, organics and sustainability,” the government said.
Farmers currently do have traceability systems yet this new initiative by the government will be the first national program. The positives of a national system will ensure “consistent, streamlined and harmonized traceability data standards [to] reduce the time and money farmers and exporters spend on providing information to different regulators and commercial assurance providers”.
The program is expected to save businesses approximately $225-325 million a year as a technical system will reduce paper-based processes. National Farmer’s Federation Chief Executive Tony Mahar told Queensland Country Life that international customers care about the processes behind their food.
“Importers increasingly want to better understand the process behind the product, the paddock to plate story and to be assured that what they are buying has be grown and produced in a way that meets community expectations,” he said.
“Importantly, customers also need to know our products are free from pests, diseases and other biosecurity risks.”
The program will also help indigenous Australians in growing the native food industry by preventing cultural appropriation. The native food industry is expected to grow to $250 million with the investment according to the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.
NewsCop contacted several agricultural experts surrounding the traceability program however had not received a response at the time of publication.
