Advocacy and Industry Cohesion
Like all major industries in Australia, the agriculture sector looks to its peak bodies for a range of advocacy functions.
The peak bodies for Australian agriculture arguably take on a greater importance than for those of other industries. Agricultural peak bodies must seek to represent and lobby for the interests of an industry which is fundamental for the success of many aspects of Australia as a nation – economically, environmentally and socially, among others. Agriculture is also an industry where many people, whether senior decision makers or the wider population, have fixed opinions about it. These range from foreign ownership and environmental aspects right through to water issues – despite veryfew having any direct experience in the sector, or ever having set foot on a farm.
For Australian agriculture to make sure it has a voice in matters of policy which impact it, it is vital that it has strong representation in relevant policy discussions, both at a State and Federal level.
The role of peak agricultural bodies will continue to be encapsulating and promoting issues which are important for the broader agricultural sector, including the enhancement of regional telecommunications or promoting upskilling on agricultural sustainability programs. They should play a lead role in promoting positive messages by the industry out to the wider community. Most importantly, they need to play a strong and expert role in all aspects of policy and regulatory development, in any way which may impact agriculture.
Australia’s agricultural advocacy groups are currently made up of a range of State, Federal and industry-based groups. Each State has at least farmer representation – some more than one – while at a national level, the National Farmers Federation brings these together. Each of these bodies also contains a number of specific agriculture sector sub-groups.
Farmer representative groups will increasingly face challenges as Australian farm numbers consolidate – with farm sizes growing at the same time that the number of farmers decline, it will prove increasingly hard to attract members, and also membership revenue.
US agriculture peak bodies by comparison, are often funded with a mixture of government funding, investments, and contributions from larger agribusinesses.
In Australia, peak bodies for other industries, such as the Minerals Council or the Pharmaceutical Guild, benefit from the funding of much larger, well-resourced members.
Australia’s agriculture sector groups do a very good job of advocacy, and often attract a profile well beyond that which could be expected for similar groups of their structure.
Peak bodies will need to plan for a future. The whole agricultural landscape is evolving rapidly, the farmer base continues to decline, and sustainability initiatives will come to the fore. They will need to explore the option of including more commercial partners while at the same time, not compromising the interests of primary producers. Consolidation among groups will be unavoidable and never easy in an industry of very big personalities.
