RETHINKING the way agriculture is subsidised around the world will be one of the keys to ensuring farming systems are able to meet the 'triple challenge' of food security, livelihood protection and environmental sustainability.
This is how the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development sees it and why it is leading efforts to level the playing field.
OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann told this week's Outlook conference, run by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, that the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for agriculture to move from business-as-usual to more forward-looking policies for resilience, sustainability and productive food systems.
To this end, subsidies were a major area of work for the OECD, the body which provides the only country-comparable tracking of government support to agriculture.
This support reached a massive US$720 billion a year between 2018 and 2020, he reported.
"This is a big number, higher than fossil fuel and industrial subsidies," Mr Cormann, former federal finance minister, said.
"Much of it distorts markets and is spent in ways that do not foster sustainable productivity, including driving higher carbon emissions, land and water degradation and less biodiversity.
"Many of the measures are inefficient in transferring income to farmers as they tend to disproportionately benefit those with the largest landholdings."
ALSO FROM ABARES:
The OECD encourages the complete phase-out of market-distorting support in favour of investment in public goods that boost productivity growth and strengthen agricultural resilience.
"In Australia, such investments account for almost half of budget support to ag but globally it is only 1-in-6 dollars of support to ag being allocated to innovation, biosecurity and infrastructure," Mr Cormann said.
The OECD was also working hard to ensure the world remains on a path to zero net emissions by 2050, Mr Cormann reported.
Agriculture was a critically important part of the solution to some of the most complex global challenges, he said.
But more ambitious action on climate change had to happen in a way that was globally effective and fair.
"In practice, climate mitigation policies, including those affecting the ag sector, face resistance due to cost and competition concerns," Mr Cormann said.
"Efforts in individual jurisdictions must help to actually reduce global emissions rather than just shift them from one part to other parts of the world. And they must be fair, in that every country carries a proportionate and verifiable share of the burden."
For all the big news in beef, sign up below to receive our Red Meat newsletter.
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
