AGRI10047 - Agriculture in Australia Article
Added on 2020-03-04
6 Pages1448 Words70 Views
Running Head: Agriculture in Australia Reforms to improve the Australian AgricultureBy (Name)(Tutor)(University)(Date)
Agriculture in Australia 2Reforms to improve the Australian AgricultureIntroductionMany people in Australian Rural areas are dependent on agriculture for their living; this is the primary source of income. According to Gray, Oss-Emer and Sheng (2014) agriculture canbe argued to play an important role in poverty elimination; even without some other income, the agricultural produce enables survival in the rural areas. Despite being a source of food, many people are employed in this sector. In the traditional period, agriculture was so underdeveloped owing to the lack of knowledge and skills. However, currently there is much development in this sector since the advancements in technology. Globalization has had much contribution in this sector’s total productivity growth. New methods of production have been introduced, better animal breeds and crops that are adaptable to different climates have been invented. The government should ensure that it offer proper protection and assistance to the Australian farmers (Sanderson, 2016 and Dfat.gov.au, 2017). The article analysis will help create an awareness of the important reforms that are driving agricultural growth to the most farmers who are not yet informed. The government will also be able to determine whether the policy reforms are actually driving growth and may consider the recommendations drawn as the additional important ways in which better results may be stimulated.AnalysisThe concern of the Australian government on it agricultural development led to the plan on Farm Management Deposits and tax reforms. This article was referring to these reforms as thewhite paper’s vision and was said to have been given a rating of 8 out of 10 by the National Farmers' Federation (NFF). Simon Talbot was the Chief executive of the NFF and pointed out that farmers would be happy with receiving the announcement of these reforms (Vidot, 2015). Farmers had for long requested for these reforms so as to improve their accessibility and flexibility. The article noted that the maximum FMD for a farmer was $ 400,000 and was expected to double to $ 800,000 the following year (Ato.gov.au, 2016). These FMDs were to have a very important role of reducing the farmers’ interest costs as it would facilitate the offsetting of the bank loans. The annual saving for the farmers according to the government was projected to be $ 150 million (Mcmahon and Cardwell, 2015). The government also noted that there would be no loss of tax concessions or the farmers who are affected by drought in accessing the FMDs. Peter Tuohey the president of Victorian Farmers' Federation (VFF)
Agriculture in Australia 3supported this idea by calling it fantastic. Fiona Simson the president of NSW Farmers' Association noted that this was an important innovation that would help the farmers survive during the drought season (Business.gov.au, 2017). MS Fiona also noted that drought-hit farmersshould continue being given concessional loans of which structure was to be revised. The other reform proposed in the white paper vision is that of the need for crop insurance. Farmers suffer from losses that arise during the drought season. These risks mostly face those young farmers who are not in a position to put a risk cover on their crops for drought. Multi-peril crop insurance is common overseas but absent in Australia. It is an insurance program that helps in insuring the crops failure which may be brought about by drought, storm orhail. It is meant to help farmers recover the cost of the important inputs they spend on putting thecrops on the ground.Finally, the article talked about the welcoming of extra spending by the government on biosecurity improvement, trade, Research and Development (R&D), and dams construction. Simon Talbot noted that increased R&D would help the government in achieving the objectives quickly. He also noted that R&D should go to branding, marketing and accessing Asia. NFF alsopointed out the need for five agricultural counselors to be appointed from overseas in addition to extra spending on biosecurity. The government also proposed to build Dams according to the information provided by VFF; dams would help in storage of large water volumes that would be used for irrigation. The improvement in the terms of trade has resulted in improved factor productivity.
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