The NSW Farmers’ goal sits within a national target, established by the National Farmers’ Federation, of a $AU100 billion contribution by agriculture to the Australian economy by 2030. Within NSW, growth in production and productivity, shifts in production and enterprise mix, technological change, investment in public and on-farm infrastructure, product quality upgrades and value-adding, and improved marketing are a few of the approaches projected to achieve the 30 by 30 vision. Government agencies and farmer representative bodies are keen that growth in these areas be market-led, though facilitated by appropriate policy and government/private sector support. While many farmers are well positioned to participate in the growth and to benefit from it, concerns remain about some farmers and rural communities being excluded, or “left behind”. This paper reports on a survey of farmers in NSW administered in late 2021, which identified the constraints and opportunities associated with the likely approaches towards growth. Consequently, the survey reports on areas in which support may be necessary to maximise farmers’ participation in the projected growth. Recognising that farms and farmers are highly heterogeneous, the survey partitioned respondents according to their stated goals for their farm businesses, by the activities undertaken to achieve those goals, and by physical, production, and geographic attributes of farm businesses. The survey sought farmers’ responses to a variety of statements of opportunity and constraint, which were subdivided according to their relevance to each of the five “capitals” within the widely-used capitals framework (comprising financial, physical, human, natural and social capital). Data reduction techniques were used to identify key constraints and opportunities as perceived by farmers, and to cluster these according to goals, needs, and enterprise type. Gap analysis provided insight into the roles to be played by the capitals in advancing farmers’ production value, filling gaps in capability, and maximising the inclusiveness of growth. The paper concludes with a set of strategic tasks defined from the survey results, identifies the likely stakeholder group surrounding each task on the basis of commonly held attributes, and characterises the needs of that group to ensure that they are well positioned to both contribute to and benefit from opportunities to expand agricultural productivity in NSW. Specific challenges for NSW Farmers as a representative and support organisation were also identified, including policy priorities.
PaperFebruary, 2022