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Supporting young Australian farmers
to support and feed the region
Georgie Aley, Chair, Future Farmers Network
F
amily farming is the lifeblood of Australian agri-
culture with an estimated 90 per cent of Australian
farms owned and operated by families. Australia has
a rapidly ageing population and agriculture is not immune
to side effects associated with the shift in demographics.
The International Year of the Farming Family is an oppor-
tunity for Australia to look at the contribution family farms
make within Australian society, to prepare for the future
opportunities and to develop strategies around barriers or
threats to ensure the realization of these opportunities.
Future Farmers Network (FFN) is Australia’s only national
youth agriculture organization to support young people aged
16-35 years through education, advocacy and communication
as they develop their careers in the industry. Here the network
reflects on some of the opportunities and challenges facing family
farms in Australia, especially through the lens of young farmers.
One of the opportunities Australian agriculture has now
and in decades to come is to be a preferred supplier to Asia. A
strong appetite and demand for Australian produce and fibre
from its Asian neighbours, as they look to feed and clothe
their growing populations, provides a tremendous growth
opportunity for current and future farmers, as articulated by
an FFN New South Wales member in a recent FFN attitudinal
survey: “There is plenty of opportunity within the primary
industries, global opportunities, given the impacts of rising
middle classes in South-East Asia, rising demand for protein
consumption and furthermore a greater consumer knowledge
of their food and where it comes from – particularly in niche
markets, such as organic and low food kilometres.”
In order for the next generation to take full advantage of
these opportunities, government, industry and farmers need
to work on solution-based approaches to some of the current
issues impacting on family farms such as succession planning,
Image: Future Farmers Network
Australia’s current and future family farmers face great opportunities in the very near future
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eep
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oots