A "line in the sand" will be drawn to prevent urban sprawl's encroachment on Victoria's farmland, according to Natalie Reiter of the Department of Transport and Planning.
The department's deputy secretary for strategy and precincts said that while Australia was a "young nation", in terms of settlement, there was now a need to ensure Victoria's agricultural areas were protected.
She was speaking during the Victorian Parliament's Environment and Planning Committee's inquiry into securing Victoria's food supply.
The inquiry is looking at the impact of urban sprawl and population growth on farming and manufacturing of food on the peri-urban fringe.
Committee member Martin Cameron MP asked Ms Reiter about the work the Department of Transport and Planning had undertaken to control the encroachment of urban developments into rural areas.
Ms Reiter said internationally, the use of urban expansion boundaries had been "really successful" in making very clear the purpose of land.
"If we take London for example, I don't think they've moved their growth boundary for 40-60 years, and will never move it," she said.
She said this made it very clear to planners and developers what land at the periphery of urban areas could be used for.
"We haven't done that in Victoria to this point," she said.
"We are now putting that line in the sand and working out how we can maximise the value of the land both for urban development and then for food supply and other uses."
Friday's parliamentary inquiry also heard from the Victorian Farmers' Federation (VFF).
VFF president Emma Germano told committee members that farmers in urban fringes were exposed to "death by a thousand cuts".
She was referencing how the multiple factors of increased land competition, greater regulation, water supply challenges and neighbour conflict were affecting farmers around cities such as Melbourne.
Ms Germano said while Victoria made up just 3 per cent of Australia's landmass, it produced 30pc of its food.
She said despite this achievement, Victoria was not necessarily food secure and it lacked an overarching and strategic food supply plan.
"We fail to even value the economic benefit of that food supply in this state," she said.
She told the committee members that politicians needed to decide if Victoria should rely on the food it produced itself or should it be dependent on imports.
"Victoria as a state has to identify what is its responsibility in regards to food supply, not just in the state, but the impact that has on food security for the rest of the country," she said.
"What we tend to see is many decisions being made in isolation of each other, without an overarching strategy as to what we want Victoria to do."
She suggested that Victoria's Agriculture, Water, Environment and Planning ministers were all working in silos.
"The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing," she said.
Ms Germano said Victoria's planning policies were "difficult for everybody", including farmers, and hugely frustrating.
She claimed there was a different approach taken to planning and development by each shire council and that this affected food production in their area, and further afield.
To fix all this, the VFF president recommended all the land in Victoria be mapped.
"You must understand it's not just as simple as 'this is the farm zone'," she said.
"Just to say the farming zone is the farming zone and that's fine really fails to understand the nuance of soil types, average rainfall, whether or not there's irrigation available, whether or not you have a regional centre in a town near you."
She called for a strategic food production plan to be created, based on this strategic agricultural land mapping.
She insisted this should be completed with a "whole of government approach".
'Food security matters'
VFF policy manager Charles Everist knuckled down on Ms Germano's points.
He said Victoria's "food security matters" and highlighted a disconnect between urban and rural dwellers in this regard.
"There's this misconception that there is tonnes of land in Australia and it's available for farming," he said.
"It's not and particularly when you burrow into the different types of crops, different types of produce."
He gave the example of potatoes which could only be grown in suitable soils.
"We've only got some very small patches of dirt in this state where we can grow that particular crop," he said.
"When people travel through the countryside and see these open spaces, it needs to be understood that Victoria only makes up 3pc of the national land mass.
"It really emphasises how important it is to be having these conversations about how we actually plan and protect this land."
Ms Germano said the VFF had farmers who were trying to farm with gas lines and electricity transmission lines overhead.
"We've got examples of farmers who are being told that they can't put their irrigation motors on during the night because people are trying to sleep," she said.
She called for the introduction of "buffer zones" between residential development and farming areas.
Committee member Martha Haylett MP asked the VFF what effect poor land use planning was having on young farmers in Victoria.
"Protecting multi-generational farmers is also really important," Ms Germano said.
Ms Germano said competition for land from other industries was locking those entering the farm sector out of the market.
"If you don't have the opportunity created by your family, it is too expensive to get into some of that land now," she said.
"As we have that competing land use, it increases the prices.
"It is so difficult to get in as a young farmer."
Committee chair Juliana Addison MP said Friday's proceedings were just the first of several public hearings on food security to be held across Victoria.
"We'll be travelling to Gippsland, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo throughout May as well," she said.
