African swine flu in Asia, bird flu in the United States, COVID-19 and now an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Brazil — the past two years have hammered home how import biosecurity is.
To reflect this, the Federal Government is spending $68.4 million to streamline and nationalise Australia’s agricultural traceability systems.
A quicker and more accurate traceability system has the potential to save $15-$17 billion over 10 years by reducing the economic impact of biosecurity outbreaks.
Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud announced the $68.4 million on January 24, and said robust traceability added up to $1 billion to the bottom line of Australian farmers each year.
Australia stands to lock in between $400 million and $1 billion in additional value if traceability can demonstrate provenance (place of origin), sustainability or organics.
For example, certified ‘grass-fed beef’ gets an additional $1 per kilogram in the US market.
“Australia already has strong traceability systems in place ... but we can make these systems stronger by bringing them together with a national approach,” Mr Littleproud said.
“That’s why we’re working with the state and territories and industry to create the National Agricultural Traceability Alliance and the National Agricultural Traceability Hub.”
The alliance and the hub will essentially centralise agricultural traceability.
“We’re organising a National Traceability Summit so we can all share our ideas and map out how we can work to make the most of this multi-million-dollar investment,” Mr Littleproud said.
The centralisation of the systems will save businesses an estimated $225-$325 million per year by reducing the paper process and slashing staff.
National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said the funding would deliver multi-pronged benefits to farmers.
“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 been grown and produced in a way that meets community expectations.”
He said the NFF was already working with the Federal Government on the development of the Australian Agricultural Sustainability Framework (AASF) to recognise farmers’ sustainability efforts.
“The objective is to ensure the positive sustainability work of Australian farmers is recognised by supply chains, markets, investors, the community and other farmers.
“(The) announcement builds strongly on the progressive work of the AASF.
“Australian farmers produce world’s best, high-quality, clean, green food and fibre. We have a great story to tell. This new investment will help farmers better tell this story, underpinned by evidence and data.”