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the australian farmer
have been limited due to reduced growth in public funding. Universities now do about 30% of the agricultural research in Australia, which is illustrated in Figure 3. Much of the research in universities is dependent on post- graduate research, to which of course there will be a limit. WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Agriculture in Australia is not simple. It is more volatile than any other Australian sec- tor by a factor of two to three. Data suggests that R&D has not made substantial inroads on that risk. For example, Australian crop farmers face twice the level of volatility of the many crop-producing nations with which it competes for markets. While risk manage- ment is the responsibility of the managers of farm business, with climate change impacts R&D assumes new importance in addressing resilience through advances in plant biotech- nology, improved spatial and temporal mon- itoring using sensor technology, and improved prediction capability. Greater investment in water sustainability and internet connectivity and other infrastructure is a necessary adjunct. There is a strong trend towards innovation hubs and start-ups. These represent great opportunities to bring in fresh thinking and test new ideas. Data shows many of these start-ups will not be successful, but many that are can be very successful – the Israeli agtech ecosystem is a good example of the opportunities. If Australia is to reap oppor- tunities here, we need to not only encourage innovation that addresses problems in our systems, but also provide the mechanisms to allow these new businesses to grow into truly global businesses that address agricultural issues across the globe. We have some of the best minds in agrifood, but they need to be encouraged to think of the global opportun- ities for their innovations. We must not lose sight of the systems
Figure 2. Real public investment and research intensity in Australian agricultural R&D (Sheng et al. 2011)
Figure 3. The source of agronomy papers from Australian research organi- sations annually for the period 1996–2015 (Pratley and Kirkegaard 2019, ACDA, unpublished)
agenda and associated public good. Cross- sectoral issues such as climate change, water enhancement, soil organic matter must be addressed. Lessons from the bushfire events of 2019–20 suggest that there needs to be more understanding of the system benefits – biodiversity, Indigenous knowhow, land- scape management. Not all imperatives will point directly to commercialised products, so our investment in R&D and innovation must ensure such systems issues are not forgotten. The portents for agriculture in Australia are very positive provided we maintain our tried and true R&D effort towards innovation. While there is a need to facilitate increasing private investment in R&D and innovation, we must also ensure continued investment in cross-sectoral issues that underpin the sus- tainability of our systems.
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