Developing successful agriculture : an Australian case study

234 Pages·2013·1.513 MB·English

by  Zhang-Yue Zhou

D S A
EVELOPING UCCESSFUL GRICULTURE
An Australian Case Study
To all men and women of rural Australia for their dedication and contribution
to advancing Australian agriculture
D S
EVELOPING UCCESSFUL
A
GRICULTURE
An Australian Case Study
Zhang-Yue Zhou
James Cook University
Townsville, Queensland
Australia
CABI is a trading name of CAB International
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© Zhang-Yue Zhou 2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
copyright owners.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zhou, Zhang-Yue.
Developing successful agriculture : an Australian case study / Zhang-Yue Zhou.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84593-945-8 (alk. paper)
1. Agriculture--Economic aspects--Australia--Case studies. I. Title.
HD2152.Z46 2013
338.10994--dc23
2012030952
ISBN-13: 978 1 84593 945 8
Commissioning editor: Claire Parfi tt
Editorial assistant: Alexandra Lainsbury
Production editor: Lauren Povey
Typeset by AMA DataSet, Preston, UK.
Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY.
Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xv
List of Tables xix
List of Figures xx
Abbreviations xxi
Glossary xxv
Part I: Australian Agriculture: A Success Story 1
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Success of Australian Agriculture 4
1.2 Objectives 6
1.3 Organization of the Book 6
References 7
2 Agricultural Development 8
2.1 Environment and Resources 8
2.2 Origin and Evolution of Australian Agriculture 12
2.3 Australian Agriculture Today 16
2.4 Concluding Comments 31
Notes 31
References 31
Part II: What Has Made Australian Agriculture Successful 33
3 Getting the Institutions Right 35
v
vi Contents
3.1 The Constitutional Framework 35
3.2 Land Tenure 39
3.3 Responsible Government, the Public Service
and the D epartment of Agriculture 44
3.4 Transparent Policy Process 45
3.5 Agricultural Services 47
3.6 Other Important Institutions 49
3.7 Concluding Comments 49
Note 51
References 52
4 Protecting Farmers’ Interests 53
4.1 Rural Politics 53
4.2 Farmer Organizations 56
4.3 Other Protective Measures 69
4.4 Concluding Comments 71
Notes 72
References 73
5 Deregulating Agriculture 74
5.1 Heavily Regulated Agriculture Prior to the 1980s 75
5.2 Completely Deregulating Agriculture
(since the 1980s) 83
5.3 Providing Adjustment Assistance 87
5.4 Changing Role of Government in Agriculture 94
5.5 Concluding Comments 95
Notes 98
References 99
6 Encouraging Entrepreneurial Farming 101
6.1 The Need to be Entrepreneurial 101
6.2 Transforming the Farming Community:
From Producers to Business Operators 102
6.3 Entrepreneurial Farmers: Success Stories 104
6.4 Concluding Comments 109
Reference 110
7 Proactive R&D Investments 111
7.1 Agricultural Research, Development and
Extension in Australia: An Overview 111
7.2 Rural R&D Corporations 116
7.3 Collaboration and Coordination in Rural R&D 123
7.4 Agricultural Extension 126
7.5 Agricultural Education 128
7.6 Private Investment in Agricultural RD&E 129
7.7 Remaining and Emerging Issues 131
7.8 Concluding Comments 133
References 135
Contents vii
8 Innovative Farming Community 137
8.1 The Need to be Innovative 137
8.2 Some Examples 139
8.3 Encouraging, Fostering and Rewarding Farmer
Innovation 141
8.4 Concluding Comments 143
References 144
9 Fostering Sustainable Farming 145
9.1 A Brief History of Environmental
Issues in Australia 145
9.2 Environmental Issues Concerning
the Farming Community 147
9.3 Initiatives and Approaches in Dealing with
Environmental Problems 153
9.4 Concluding Comments 170
Notes 173
References 174
Part III: Handling Emerging Challenges for Future Success:
The Australian Way 177
10 Handling Emerging Challenges 179
10.1 Uncertain World Markets 179
10.2 Volatile Weather Conditions 181
10.3 Biosecurity Threats 182
10.4 Farm Succession 183
10.5 Labour and Skills Shortage 184
10.6 Stronger Public Demand for Environment
Protection 185
10.7 Urban–Rural Divide 186
10.8 Concluding Comments 187
References 188
Postscript 190
Index 193
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Foreword
The remarkable performance of Australian agriculture, amidst substantial
dismantling of government supports and interventions over the last three decades,
offers tremendous insight for other countries, particularly on what is required to
create a successful agriculture sector when it is treated almost equally to any
other business or industry in the economy. The development of such an agri-
culture sector is often a dream for policy makers throughout the world, and a
challenge that is often given up due to lack of know-how, courage, or simply
because it is considered impossible. Australia offers a great example for countries
to consider in this context.
From the 1950s to 1970s, the United States provided a very good example for
countries to follow on how to develop their agriculture sectors and achieve food
security, and this provided the foundation for the green revolution that solved the
world food problem at that time. Today, Australian agriculture can provide a great
model for countries to examine as they attempt to develop successful free market
agriculture sectors, even in a world where protection is still very common.
Professor Zhang-Yue Zhou is eminently suited to write this book as he grew
up in rural China seeing the huge agricultural problems and government inter-
ventions there, and has then been an intense researcher and keen observer of
Australian and international agriculture for several decades. Zhang-Yue also has
an irrepressible zeal and enthusiasm for agriculture, the world food problem, and
the well-being of the farmers around the world. It is clear from what I have read
that he has put in an enormous amount of effort on this subject and has produced
a monumental piece of work that is a must-read for anyone interested in the
development of agriculture today, in a free market economy and world.
A major feature highlighted by the book is the institutional framework. The
Australian Constitution bestows substantial powers to the states in making laws,
policies and programmes for agriculture. This allows the states to tailor their institu-
tions and policies to suit their substantially differing endowments and comparative
ix