A major player in agriculture has called for a second green revolution, and farmers "need to start arguing for change" to continue sustainable production.
The calls for action were made in a speech by agribusiness leader Donald McGauchie AO, titled Can ethical & sustainable food production feed the world? presented at the annual Victorian Farmers Foundation's (VFF) Grains and Livestock Conference in Ballarat on Tuesday.
He said a broad range of changes in research investment - or a "second green revolution" - was needed to continue sustainable and ethical food production.
"While industrial farming do much of the manual labour, government and investments of significant amounts of money do much to forward many of these issues," he said.
Mr McGauchie called on governments at all levels to act now to reduce pressure on food prices and invest in further research, citing philanthropic efforts to establish rice and maize research institutes in the Philippines and Mexico as leading examples.
He gave examples of where Australian research is ahead of many other countries as well - including steps to develop Asparagopsis feed.
But he warned that people shouldn't become too complacent on current studies being an ultimate solution, and investments into a broader spectrum of research were still needed.
These included improving the understanding of modern genetic engineering, encouraging more regenerative farming and significant research "at the very basic level in technology management systems".
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"If people believe in the science of climate change, they need to believe in a very proven science of genetic modification, which has huge applications in production," he said.
He also cautioned the industry in predicting what will happen with food prices due to market uncertainty.
"The increasing cost of inputs and fuel ... may well ease a little over time, although I believe it won't be as quickly as we would like," he said.
"There have been all sorts of predictions about food prices doubling and then coming back in 12 months, [but] I think that's unlikely when there's changes that are unexpected."
While he did not want to dissuade interest in organic farming, he said it did not cater to those on a budget.
He said industrial farming was still essential to the broader population, but changes would be needed in that space to feed consumer demand while keeping costs down.
"Research shows that organic farming produces less food than conventional farming for organic farming practices and leave almost as much as twice the amount of land to feed the same population," he said.
He also advocated for an improved understanding of modern genetic engineering, encouraging more regenerative farming and significant research "at the very basic level in technology management systems".
Outside of research investments, Mr McGauchie said for improvements to transport systems, and more initiatives to grow the agriculture workforce.
But overall urged governments of all stripes to focus on the responsibility of having cheap food available.
"We have fewer people than ever worked in agriculture feeding a larger global population, and so we needed at least as big an effort as we did to do that first. It wasn't funded entirely by industry bodies, and it shouldn't be today," he said.
"Every year, billions upon billions of dollars are spent on basic health and education, as it should, [but] we in agriculture feed and clothe the world and maintain a high level of stability in populations.
"Good health and education doesn't account for much if people can't get the fundamentals of food on the plate when they need it."
"The increasing cost of inputs and fuel ... may well ease a little over time, although I believe it won't be as quickly as we would like," he said.
"There have been all sorts of predictions about food prices doubling and then coming back in 12 months, [but] I think that's unlikely when there's changes that are unexpected."
He also said that while he did not want to dissuade interest in organic farming, it did not currently cater to those on a budget.
He called industrial farming still essential to the broader population, but changes would be needed in that space to cater to what the consumer wants while keeping costs down.
"Research shows that organic farming produces less food than conventional farming for the hectic organic farming practices and leaf as much almost as much as twice the amount of land to feed the same population," he said.
Research into new feed options like asparagopsis was a step ahead but warned that people shouldn't become too complacent on these being an ultimate solution, and investments into a broader spectrum of research were still needed.
These included improving the understanding of modern genetic engineering, encouraging more regenerative farming and significant research "at the very basic level in technology management systems".
"If people believe in the science of climate change, they need to believe in a very proven science of genetic modification, which has huge applications in production," he said.
Outside of research investments, Mr McGauchie said there was an urgent need for growth to avoid a disaster in the upcoming decades.
As well as improvements to transport systems, he urged governments to focus on the responsibility of having cheap food available.
"We have fewer people than ever worked in agriculture feeding a larger global population, and so we needed at least as big an effort as we did to do that first. It wasn't funded entirely by industry bodies, and it shouldn't be today," he said.
"Every year, billions upon billions of dollars are spent on basic health and education, as it should, [but] we in agriculture feed and clothe the world and maintain a high level of stability in populations.
"Good health and education doesn't account for much if people can't get the fundamentals of food on the plate when they need it."