Answering call for growth

The challenge facing Tasmanian farmers, if we are to realise our full potential and the full potential of the resources that we use and we are to reach annual production worth $10 billion by the year 2050, is to triple the level of production we have seen over the last 20 years.

Put another way, we have to grow at six per cent a year. That is a big call but it is one we are prepared to answer.

It is one of the take-home messages from the recent TFGA Policy Forum in Launceston. And there were many.

KPMG director Jim Dennis said there was clear evidence capital investment in agriculture in Tasmania was growing and that farmer clients had a greater appetite for risk.

That risk might be in niche markets and, where Tasmanian commodities had already established a foothold, there was the opportunity fore what was termed “pull through” for other products.

The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s Associate Professor Laurie Bonney explained this by saying that putting Tasmanian lamb on a Middle Eastern plate should not be the end.

There was plenty of room on the plate for other Tasmanian products, such as vegetables. This is the “pull through” effect.

It might well be, he argued, that this is where joint ventures with overseas partners could come into play.

Allied with the potential for Tasmania to expand sales to overseas markets, are two important issues:
greater collaboration of the total state effort in order to maximise its impact, and
branding.
On the first of these, there was an interesting development during the forum: people started to focus on the benefits of the TFGA acting as the catalyst for the concentration of effort. It was argued that the TFGA should take a co-ordinating role of industrial effort, from research and development to production co-ordination and market optimisation.

Up until now, many have believed this should be the state government’s role. It should not. We should be the prime overs of our industry and the government should be there to support what we do. That is their proper role.

This collaboration and co-operation became a recurring theme of the forum.

On the second issue, branding, it was also apparent that it was a crucial area – to build market recognition of Tasmania through its reputation for quality – but again, perhaps that was the duty of the industry to establish the brand, an overarching brand of what Tasmania means in the food and fibre marketplace.

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE TASMANIAN COUNTRY ON 17TH JULY.
TFGA president Wayne Johnston