IT IS crucial a national food plan comes together now - over and above political interests.
This is according to Professor Snow Barlow of the University of Melbourne, who launched a new report for The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) at a Rural Press Club of Victoria event in Melbourne this week.
The report, titled Food and Fibre: Australia's Opportunities, said creating a long-term policy strategy for the country's agricultural and food sectors would be vital.
"The previous government, under Labor, formed its own national food plan in 2010, and now this government is saying it will have its own plan," Professor Barlow said.
"By the time we go through this plan, we very well might have to do another one.
"You just can't do it that way."
He said a national plan needed to agree across all political lines and should be longer than one term of government.
"I would like to see agri-food industries take a lead by pushing State and Federal Governments to have a plan and holding them to it," he said.
And while the current White Paper was a government-led process, Professor Barlow said there was no Ministerial council to guarantee implementation.
He said the ATSE report hoped to influence the White Paper.
The report targets national challenges and outlines several recommendations for future policy decisions.
This includes a call to leverage Australia's competitive advantage by forming a 'Brand Australia'.
"We need to add value to our produce," Professor Barlow said.
"We've been beaten hands-down by the New Zealanders."
The report stated Australia had historically failed to cash in on its reputation as a safe, sustainable and well-regulated country in which to produce food.
It suggested that agribusinesses should shift away from dealing in raw commodities and move into higher-value products.
This was a trend that was already beginning in sectors such as dairy, where companies had moved to produce infant formula ingredients in a bid to chase better returns - but more of this needed to happen, Professor Barlow said.
Research, development and extension (RD&E) was another key area the report said needed urgent attention.
"Productivity increases in agriculture have fallen off badly in the past decade because we have invested in what is called research intensity - that is to say, the amount of money invested per unit of output has decreased," he said.
With land and water becoming increasingly finite, Professor Barlow said Australia also needed to take care of its existing resources while adapting to climate change.
"We have to make the most of what we have, which will reinforce the value of our food products through sustainability - and the benefits should flow on to all sectors of the industry," he said.
He said research should not only focus on productivity but protect Australia's resources too.
And while RD&E funding cuts had become increasingly the norm, Professor Barlow said the government needed to prioritise growth industries.
"Yes, things are tough on a Federal level, but you have to prioritise areas you think are important for your future," he said.
"Victoria is interesting, because you can look at it as being half-full or half-empty.
"We are not doing as well as we might be; we don't have that big mining industry."
But he said the State was experiencing what Australia was expected to go through in the next decade.
"We can't rely on mining.
"Food and agriculture has to be one of our key industries," he said.
He also said Australia should be investigating how to take advantage of the massive international student population, with the majority coming over from Asia.
"We should be trying to influence how these students perceive the food industry here, because these students are potentially the next generation of consumers in Asia - they might even own the supermarkets or restaurants we will be trying to get our food into," he said.
