THE Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) lacks direction, according to the Stocktake and Future Directions report which was released this week and is being considered by Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Lewis.
The long-awaited report of DAFWA's core functions was set up former Minister Ken Bastion and was due to be completed by 2015.
A panel of experts was put together by former DAFWA director general Rob Delane to carry out the review, funded to about $100,000, to make recommendations to the minister on its direction and resourcing.
It identified that gaps in core competencies and service delivery capacity were reducing confidence in the agency's ability to defend and protect the sector, there was a lack of clarity and communication for stakeholders on the agency's role and it had abandoned research and was evolving into a policy and regulatory agency.
The report highlighted that DAFWA's engagement with and attitude towards industry had diminished and it needed to build respect, relevance and capacity to collaborate and service its clients.
"There is a view within industry that if these core issues are not addressed they will continue to undermine the effectiveness of the agency," the report said.
"The panel has made a series of recommendations based around two key principles; science and innovation underpin DAFWA's capacity to develop and defend WA agriculture and food and all activities will be done in partnership with industry."
The report said DAFWA needed to invest in an environment for future leaders to reinvigorate the intellectual capital for agriculture and food, advocating for the agriculture and food sectors, improved understanding and respect between producers and consumers and internal management capacity to integrate and align resources to deliver a client focussed approach to engagement and implementation.
Mr Lewis welcomed the report, saying it provided a critical review of DAFWA's core functions and its capacity to deliver on future government priorities.
"This review is a key piece of information that will help guide the path forward for the department, supporting our fundamental strategy of enabling the agriculture and food sector to double in value by 2025," Mr Lewis said.
"In principle I support the intent of the review's recommendations which are based around science and innovation underpinning DAFWA's capacity to grow and protect WA agriculture and food, and working in partnership with industry."
Mr Lewis said he was pleased to be overseeing a passionate department that supported the success of the State's agrifood sector and its increasing importance to the WA economy.
"It is clear that an investment in agriculture is an investment in the future prosperity of the State," Mr Lewis said.
At the Legislative Council Estimates and Financial Operations Committee Annual Report hearings on DAFWA last week, Labor Agricultural Region MP and Jennacubbine farmer Darren West said DAFWA was running out of time before the State election.
"I'd like to see the report tabled so we can learn a bit about where the department sees its own future," Mr West said.
"Where we sit, the government's future plans for the department are unclear - so let's look at the internal review and see the recommendations and the findings.
"While it's not long to the election, I think the government needs to do something with the department as it is a shell of its former self and not servicing the sector particularly well at the moment."
Almost a year after the recommendations were due, Mr Lewis said this week the recommendations were on his desk.
"I have read the recommendations," he said.
"The previous ministers undertook a stocktake, it is with me at the moment and I have asked industry, through the ministerial advisory committee, to make comment on it and I will be making a decision on that.
"I will have to take a recommendation to cabinet on which recommendations we accept and agree to and then there will be a functioning exercise."
Mr Lewis said as a principal DAFWA would be a research and development agency with a strong focus on biosecurity.
"More than 40 per cent of the department's staff actively participates in research and development," Mr Lewis said.
"Importantly, the evolution of the sector has meant that there are also grower organisations which collaborate in and undertake their own research and development.
"Similarly, working with industries and businesses that have a strong potential and commitment to grow the WA economy remains one of the keys to success and we will continue to pursue this where appropriate."
The report that was made public through the DAFWA website, said the department had been through a period of budget and staff restrictions, with full-time equivalent staff reducing from 1581 in 2007 to 965 in 2016.
The report said there was increased concern from industry that these cuts may have gone too far, reducing its capacity and capability to delivery core services and that DAFWA was defined by what it could no longer do.
"This financial pressure on the department has coincided with a period of unprecedented interest and investment, both domestic and international, in WA agriculture driven by forecast demand growth in Asian markets," the report said.
The review panel was chaired by farmer, agribusiness consultant and policy contributor for federal and State government Peter Cooke.
It included Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and Biosecurity Council of WA deputy chair Kevin Goss, farmer and Ministerial Agricultural Advisory Committee chairman and Moora Shire councillor Peter Nixon and other industry representatives.
It consulted with more than 100 stakeholders and identified a number of key themes of concern to industry.