A modern farm is a highly complex business and farmers need to have a wide range of skills and knowledge, from financial risk management, through to employment law, environmental regulation, social science and animal welfare. Therefore the future of farming relies on attracting intelligent young people into the industry however many of the best and brightest continue to walk past the sector without giving the career opportunities it offers a second thought. The primary sector requires people with a wide range of talent and skills not just hands on farming but technical knowledge in computerisation for irrigation and value adding machinery. Nutritionists, agronomists, soil experts as well as a raft of specialist lab researchers. Agriculture needs experts in logistics, accounting and business management as well as animal husbandry and much, much more. The widely held belief amongst young people (and their careers advisors) remains that farming jobs are largely physical and unskilled, involving anti-social hours in remote and often unconnected locations. There is an urgent need for the true nature of farming career opportunities to be more proactively promoted in Australia together with the levels of remuneration which are above average to a lot of other Industries.
We need to engage the education system and the multimedia to bring awareness to the potential of aspirational career paths and for the institutes that collect millions of dollars in grower levies to invest in training and development and support mentoring and coaching services to expose the real opportunities for business ownership and leadership in agriculture that will build strong and resilient job generating rural communities.
Whilst Agriculture currently only generates 2% of Australian GDP, a slowdown in the mining and resources sector has made it a priority by Federal and State governments re-evaluate their investment into the Industry for economic growth. Opportunities now exist to increase value derived from agricultural production by refocusing on innovative value adding rather than just selling commodities as base food products.
Agriculture has been slow to adopt digital technology, however this is changing. There is a distinct growth in investment in agricultural technology as companies seek solutions with the potential to disrupt all stages of the food value chain. Millions of dollars has been invested , a surging trend since 2014, into agri-tech innovation focusing on areas including precision agriculture, environmentally controlled agricultural systems such as hydroponics and aeroponics, as well as food safety, alternative and novel foods and on-farm robotics such as artificial intelligence automated irrigation and drones. Much of the innovation is coming from start-ups, often motivated by a social purpose to enhance access to nutritious food, and make viable businesses. They seek to unlock significant increases in production of the foods consumers want to eat and ensure that it is edible when it reaches their table.
The world’s relationship with food is one of the most intimate, personal interactions we have and therefore when we put food into our bodies, our concern should be, and increasingly has become, about the integrity, safety and authenticity of the products we eat. The food choices we make directly influence our long term health outcomes whilst also reflecting our culture, values and economic status and can identify the region in which we live. It also has a direct impact on the long term environmental sustainability of the planet and its ability to support our ever growing population. Interestingly the way we interact with food also changes in many different ways as our lifestyles change and evolve. As a result, our farmers can’t and shouldn’t assume the products they have historically produced will continue to be in demand in the future or that current production standards will be acceptable to their consumers.