WA AGRICULTURE will win by being smarter.
That's the opinion of Agribusiness Council of Australia CEO Roy Duncanson.
"We cannot compete with India and China because of labour rates," he said. "So we have to be smarter.
"But the most difficult problem of being a farmer is the image of agriculture.
"And it's a global problem.
"In Australia at the moment there are 4000 vacancies for jobs but only 700 graduates are coming out of schools and colleges into ag.
"We are told the city sees farmers as whingers.
"Well, let us change the perception.
"It's not life down on the farm but up on the farm, because ag is a winner.
"We need ideas and we need smart people.
But whose job is it to market ag?
"It's farmers and we need to make new friends because we don't have the numbers.
"We needs banks, suppliers, transport sectors and the like all in the one tent with the aim of all rowing the same way.
"Ag systems have to change not only for farmers but also for processors and distributors.
"Currently one to two food processing companies are falling over each week in Australia.
"It's tough at the farmer end but it's also tough at the consumer end.
"Farmers are competing against countries with low cost labour and the only solution for agriculture is to get smarter."
