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20 Aug 2009 QFF ACKNOWLEDGES STATE INVESTMENT BUT CALLS FOR POLICY CLARITY ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) has today acknowledged the leadership shown by Premier Anna Bligh and Minister for Climate Change Kate Jones in announcing the next step in the Queensland ClimateSmart 2050 strategy.

CEO Dan Galligan said he is pleased that the Government has recognised that the farming sector is willing to work together with the State Government in dealing with Climate Change.

“As the sector that is impacted first by Climate Change, farmers have shown in the past an ability to manage huge variability in the climate. The strategy announced today appears to intend to build on this capacity by investing $3.2 million to help primary producers better manage climate change risks,” Mr Galligan said.

“Queensland farming industries have been at the forefront of investigating the sources of carbon emissions across the production cycle on our farms. Farmers are looking for ways to implement low emission farming systems and the commitment we have heard today reconfirmed that further work will be funded into on-farm water use efficiency particularly in relation to reducing energy costs is an approach that will support this ongoing work,” he said.

“The Queensland package has attempted to provide direction about how farmers might manage the impacts of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) by funding research into the use of agricultural lands for emission offsets. The fact that the rules for agriculture’s role in a CPRS have not been established by the Federal Government means that much of this element of the Queensland package may be hypothetical.

“In this way the Queensland Government strategy has raised important policy questions about the design of the CPRS and the future of food production.

‘QFF has said for some time that unless the Australian emissions trading scheme treats the agriculture sector consistently to our primary trading competitors and provides for a net view of emissions, then Australian farmers will suffer dramatic disadvantages.

‘In relation to securing our ability to produce food, fibre and foliage, we need to recognise that the farm sector plays a crucial role in producing the best produce for the Australian consumer and rather than reducing our capacity to continue this task, we need to increase it while finding complementary ways of delivering environmental services.

“This strategy is a promising next step toward dealing with a complex problem, but farmers will continue to show their willingness to work with the Government to deliver effective management solutions where there is a genuine approach to balancing the competing demands for the resource that we all manage,” Mr Galligan concluded.

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