The agricultural sector will need to evolve over the next 50 years for significant changes like lower water availability and water-sharing policies, according to a leading academy.
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) has outlined investments to protect the future of the Murray-Darling Basin and address climate change.
Ten experts have contributed to A thriving Murray-Darling Basin in 50 years: Actions in the face of climate change, a collection of essays that urge for technological investment to monitor rivers in the basin and warns of the threats to communities and the environment, along with agriculture.
ATSE president Katherine Woodthorpe said the future of the Murray-Darling Basin is recognised to be at severe risk and that comprehensive action across all governments will be decisive to safeguard its biodiversity, society and economy.
"The Murray-Darling Basin covers one-seventh of Australia's landscape and is responsible for delivering a significant share of Australia's Gross Domestic Product," Dr Woodthorpe said.
"But more importantly, to safeguard and protect this resource for the future, Australia must take urgent action in the face of increasing climate change."
The essay series also recommended reinstating a body to provide independent objective policy advice on national water management, including for the Murray-Darling Basin.
Editor John Radcliffe said the essay series was a positive view on what the needs for farming would be in 50 years time.
"What the reality is, depending on where you are in the basin, particularly for the southern basin, you may well be faced with say 23 per cent less rainfall as based on the CSIRO computations a few years back," he said.
"That reduction has not really been taken into account in the present sustainable limits that are being established as part of the current Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
"We're going to have to look at less water overall in the basin, both in terms of maintaining the environment, but also in maintaining the communities and the agriculture within the basin."
Dr Radcliffe said labour efficiencies had been consistent throughout the history of agriculture, and further change would still happen with some agricultural sectors involving new genetic efficiencies.
"Currently, plant breeders are trying to produce crops which are more water-use efficient which is harder to introduce in terms of horticultural crops because of the long life of the plantings of grapes or tree crops.
"On the other hand, of course, if you're also dealing with vegetables, those sorts of changes can be introduced more quickly.
"People learn to adapt and that's the sort of thing that's going to have to happen... and we have to adapt to what are the new market requirements and can we meet them."
He also said farming in the basin could also adapt to water scarcity with more marketing of water, similar to the millennium drought.
Lead author Anne-Maree Boland contributed to an essay specifically looking at industry development and adjustment for the Murray-Darling Basin.
The essay outlined a preferred vision that "a highly profitable industry producing more from less through sustainable practices and technology advances."
It also highlighted the potential of automation replacing the reliance on a casual labour force reliance, while "sophisticated production systems will be managed by a skilled workforce, providing economic benefits to the region."
