tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/farm-policy-9058/articlesFarm policy – The Conversation2021-02-16T13:26:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1545372021-02-16T13:26:51Z2021-02-16T13:26:51ZIndian farmers are a powerful force in Indian politics, and here’s why their protests matter<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383857/original/file-20210211-20-1prnd2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C17%2C3799%2C2483&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A large number of women have joined the protests against new farm laws in India.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farmers-congregate-at-tikri-during-the-ongoing-protest-news-photo/1231087392?adppopup=true">Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For over two months, farmers in India have been on <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/1/26/22242395/india-farmer-protest-republic-day-delhi">a largely peaceful</a> <a href="https://qz.com/india/1920840/a-timeline-of-the-months-long-farmer-protests-in-india/">protest</a> over <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1656929">three laws</a> the Indian Parliament passed in September 2020 to liberalize how and to whom farmers can sell their produce. </p>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/international-news-india-new-delhi-coronavirus-pandemic-9985c84b0ea70aba6331ba16bba4982a">Men and women</a>, young and old, have been participating in these protests and show no signs of giving up. Tens of thousands of farmers from all over India came together on Feb. 6 <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/6/22270309/india-protests-farmers-blockades">to set up blockades across all main roads</a> in the country, shutting down all traffic for nearly three hours.</p>
<p>As a scholar of the <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/publication/political-economy-agricultural-policy-reform-india-0">political economy</a> of India’s agricultural sector, I argue that farmers in India, though not organized, have nonetheless been a formidable political force in the country. In the past, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066159408438553">brought the nation’s cities to a near standstill</a> in disputes with the government, and they could do so again. </p>
<h2>India’s regulated farm markets</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1656929">government claims</a> that the new laws are meant to raise farmers’ incomes and transform Indian agriculture. According to the government, they will also end “<a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1657657">excessive regulatory interference</a>” and thereby encourage the private sector to invest in storage, transportation and other parts of the agriculture supply chain. The laws will, officials say, offer farmers the opportunity to market their produce to various groups of buyers – processors, retailers, exporters and so on.</p>
<p>In the past, the Indian government has played a major role in providing <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/publication/political-economy-agricultural-policy-reform-india-0">farm infrastructure in India</a>. </p>
<p>In response to persistent food insecurity in the 1960s, the government put in place a set of policies that would increase agricultural production through the use of inputs such as high-yielding seeds, <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/publication/political-economy-agricultural-policy-reform-india-0">chemical fertilizers and adequate water and electricity supply</a>. </p>
<p>On the demand side, the government bought grain and other commodities from the farmers, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/minimum-support-price-msp-farmers-explained-6706253/">guaranteeing floor prices</a>, and then distributed the food to consumers throughout the country. </p>
<p>To maintain price stability and to protect farmers from being ripped off by middlemen, the government created <a href="https://www.ncaer.org/events/ipf-2016/IPF-2016-Paper-Chatterjee-Kapur.pdf">regulated markets</a>. These policies, which began within two decades of India’s independence in 1947, were consistent with the socialist model of governance India had adopted.</p>
<p>However, according to experts, these regulated markets, created to protect farmers, emerged as <a href="https://www.ncaer.org/events/ipf-2016/IPF-2016-Paper-Chatterjee-Kapur.pdf">obstacles to growth</a> in the farm sector. </p>
<h2>Farmers’ apprehensions</h2>
<p>Under the Indian Constitution, regulation of agriculture happens at the state level. During the last two decades, <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/model-apmc-act-adopted-by-16-states-pawar/article23072759.ece">several states</a> have changed policies to make it easier for farmers to sell outside those regulated markets, but those policy changes were not enough to attract the private sector to invest in the <a href="https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/three-farm-bills">agricultural supply chain</a>. The government claims that the new laws <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/explained-why-farmers-fear-losing-msp-under-new-laws/articleshow/79523591.cms">will create uniform legislation</a> across the country. </p>
<p>Farmers, however, are <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/farmers-protest-talks-with-centre-sucha-singh-gill-7091057/">afraid</a> that the new laws will drive down prices and drive the farmers off their lands.</p>
<p>They are also concerned about the unbalanced negotiating power with a powerful corporate sector, which would own infrastructure such as warehouses and refrigerated transportation. </p>
<h2>The power of farmers</h2>
<p>While farmers may not have much power individually, they have been a force to contend with in Indian politics. </p>
<p>Most notably, in the 1980s, farmers protesting low crop prices and demanding free electricity supply <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066159408438553">brought New Delhi to a standstill</a>. At the time, farmers’ groups with diverse political ideologies from various parts of the country quickly unified behind their common demands.</p>
<p>At that time, in New Delhi, they held protest marches as a show of power; in rural India, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066159408438553">restricted entry</a> of government officials into their own offices; and nationally, they blocked food transportation routes. </p>
<p>The federal government yielded to their pressure and raised the minimum support price of crops; <a href="https://www.epw.in/journal/2001/35/special-articles/power-politics.html">many state governments</a> offered free electricity to farmers. </p>
<p>Farmers also demonstrated their power on several occasions when the Indian government was engaged in negotiations to form the World Trade Organization. Pressure from farmers led India to demand <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/article/oupajagec/v_3a84_3ay_3a2002_3ai_3a3_3ap_3a754-761.htm">high tariff protection</a> – ranging from 100% to 300% – as a way to lessen the competition from imports. </p>
<p>India’s rural economy is still largely dependent on <a href="http://www.fao.org/india/fao-in-india/india-at-a-glance/en/">farming and related activities</a>, and the farm sector accounts for nearly <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/budget/india-economic-survey-2018-for-farmers-agriculture-gdp-msp/1034266/">50% of the workforce</a>. Farmers also constitute an important voting bloc.</p>
<h2>Nationwide support</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Indian farmers blockade roads" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383859/original/file-20210211-17-1lqcfxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmers participate in a road blockade as part of their protests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/farmers-shout-slogans-as-they-take-part-in-a-three-hour-news-photo/1231003795?adppopup=true">Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The current protests are being led by farmers mainly from the northern states of <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/farmer-protests-heres-why-punjab-and-haryana-farmers-are-on-the-warpath-6190521.html">Haryana and Punjab</a>, states that are central to India’s food supply. These are the states from which the Indian government buys a majority of the wheat and rice that is eventually <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-farms-protests-explainer-idCAKBN28E1WI">distributed at subsidized prices to consumers</a> in the rest of India. In the past, farmers from these states have enjoyed enormous political clout as well. To add to the power of these protests, farmers from other states have been been joining the protests. </p>
<p>The current administration, thus far, has indicated that it <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55744967">will not roll back the laws</a>. Prolonging the protest, in my view, makes the administration appear ineffective, a risk it can scarcely take with major state elections looming ahead. The protest is costly to farmers as well.</p>
<p>Although the protests have been largely peaceful so far, on Jan. 26, India’s Republic Day, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/1/26/22242395/india-farmer-protest-republic-day-delhi">clashes took place</a> between farmers and the police. If that happens again, it would be an alarming prospect for all concerned.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Surupa Gupta received funding from International Food Policy Research Institute during 2005-2006.
</span></em></p>India’s farmers have been protesting for months. An expert on India’s agricultural sector explains why governments in the past have paid heed to their demands.Surupa Gupta, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Mary WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/774572017-05-15T04:45:15Z2017-05-15T04:45:15ZWhy do some graziers want to retain, not kill, dingoes?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169057/original/file-20170512-32588-nff9gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia has a complex relationship with the dingo</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Emmott</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Vast, ancient, nutrient-poor, with wild swings between droughts, floods and fires: this describes much of the Australian continent. Livestock grazing and farming in such a land is certainly not without its challenges. </p>
<p>Where we’ve failed to work with the local conditions, we see barren plains, dust storms, the extinction of native species, and the repossession of properties by banks, among many ills. </p>
<p>But such a dire picture is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australias-outback-is-globally-important-32938">far from universal</a>, and belies the fact that many who live on the land are also among our most innovative land managers. <a href="http://www.treat.net.au/">Many</a> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2006/s1674809.htm">projects</a> offer potential <a href="http://regenthoneyeater.org.au/how.php">benefits</a> for <a href="http://www.emuproject.org.au/">livestock production and the environment</a> <a href="http://www.gondwanalink.org/">alike</a>, but without support progress may be hindered. </p>
<h2>Putting dingoes to work</h2>
<p>One of the most contentious examples involves encouraging dingoes. Many pastoral areas require land managers to take “<a href="https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/land-management/health-pests-weeds-diseases/pests/invasive-animals/restricted/dingo">all reasonable and practical steps</a>” to manage the risk of dingoes, which are classed as pest animals. </p>
<p>But a <a href="http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(12)00006-7?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0169534712000067%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">growing body of research</a> argues that dingoes can be effective at controlling <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00203.x/full">kangaroo and feral goat populations</a>, especially on cattle stations. </p>
<p>A Western Australian couple, David Pollock and Frances Jones, were recently featured on <a href="http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/australian-story/NC1701Q013S00">Australian Story</a> for their decision to regenerate their property, Wooleen, by de-stocking, encouraging local flora and fauna, and investing in ecotourism.</p>
<p>Their neighbours, including sheep graziers whose stock are vulnerable to dingoes, feel this is an irresponsible decision. Graziers have a mandate to control dingoes (“wild dogs”, to many) and dingo-domestic dog hybrids — which can’t be easily and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-victorias-dingo-and-wild-dog-bounty-is-doomed-to-miss-its-target-66980">reliably distinguished in the wild</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169060/original/file-20170512-32596-tfy1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dingoes are known to be very effective at controlling kangaroo populations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Emmott</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120975">impacts</a> and merits of encouraging dingoes in sheep country are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avj.12277/full">hotly debated</a>, their role in the management of cattle stations is much better understood. But restrictive legislation and the stigma attached to dingoes are frustrating for those who see them as having a vital ecological and economic role for their properties.</p>
<p>Queensland grazier <a href="http://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/4424897/longreach-naturalist-honoured/?cs=4770">Angus Emmott</a> writes that his beef cattle enterprise, Noonbah station, has benefited from leaving dingoes and kangaroos alone:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We run a beef cattle enterprise in the top end of the Queensland channel country, southwest of Longreach. As a part of our management plan, we leave the dingoes and the ’roos alone. We see a range of benefits to our operation. </p>
<p>When the dingoes don’t have their social structure disrupted by poison baiting, trapping and shooting, only the apex bitch breeds, once a year at most. These family groups have strictly defined ranges, and they kill or chase off other wild dogs or dingoes that intrude. They also keep kangaroos down to very low numbers, which is a huge benefit in regards to pasture growth and being able to rest our paddocks. The dingoes also keep down feral pig, cat and fox numbers. </p>
<p>Yes, dingoes do take some of our calves, but the benefits of pasture growth and feral animal control result in a net benefit of better land condition and a greater dollar return. Dingoes also benefit biodiversity conservation and soil condition. We acknowledge this management model does not work in sheep country, including for some of our nearby neighbours, and in these cases we need to look at different forms of management, such as fencing and/or <a href="http://www.dunluce.com.au/articles/maremmas.html">companion and guardian animals</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12378/abstract">Research</a> supports the financial benefits of this approach in certain circumstances. Some studies have found that, perversely, taking lethal action against dingoes can <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12251/abstract">increase the incidence of attacks on stock</a> and boost the population of herbivores that <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12378/abstract">compete with cattle for pasture</a>.</p>
<p>Solutions for <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.12396/abstract">protecting livestock against attack</a>, such as guardian dogs, are also at hand and may be considerably cheaper than constructing and maintaining extensive predator-proof fences. Livestock guardian dogs have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/watching-over-livestock-our-guardian-animals-6754">shown to be effective</a> in numerous locations across Australia, on large and small grazing properties. But investment from state and federal government (and related agencies) aimed at encouraging such innovation has been lacking. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/169058/original/file-20170512-32602-swwp71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kangaroos can become very abundant following rain and without control by dingoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Emmott</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Working with the land</h2>
<p>Regardless of whether graziers take the drastic steps seen at Wooleen, now is the time to reflect on the direction of Australia’s land management. </p>
<p>If we’re to overcome the many challenges we face, including the impacts of <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/foodsecurityreport2015">climate change on food production</a>, then we need to support the bold new thinking emerging from rural and regional Australia, and our scientific institutions. </p>
<p>Such ideas could include making better <a href="https://theconversation.com/eat-locals-swapping-sheep-and-cows-for-kangaroos-and-camels-could-help-our-environment-57349">use of native animals</a> – better suited to Australian conditions – as sources of meat, and <a href="http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/outback-to-oceans-australia/where-we-work/western-australia">reforming land use legislation</a> to allow new industries. </p>
<p>Seeing some of the worst land degradation first hand it’s easy to think that it’s all too hard and that environmental repair will take decades, if not centuries. This can invite inertia and apathy, the enemies of positive change. </p>
<p>But the stories of Wooleen, Noonbah and other <a href="http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Working-Paper-54_CAGSP-Woodgreen-Station-NT.pdf">innovators</a> show us <a href="https://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/take-action-host-screening-restoring-earth">what is possible</a>. Science has helped demonstrate ecological <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01492.x/full">repair can happen faster</a> and to a greater extent than many might appreciate.</p>
<p>Big changes certainly carry risks, and these must be managed carefully, but <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.12186/abstract">new and sometimes brave ideas</a> will always improve our understanding of the land. Whatever the outcome, such knowledge helps guide better decisions for more sustainable grazing, farming and bio-diverse conservation. </p>
<p><br></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Euan Ritchie would like to acknowledge the contribution of Angus Emmott to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Euan Ritchie is a Director (Media Working Group) of the Ecological Society of Australia, and a member of the Australian Mammal Society.</span></em></p>Australian farmers and graziers have historically been against dingoes on their lands. But in a bid to adapt to changing conditions, some are embracing the predators and their potential.Euan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/375172015-02-12T22:32:07Z2015-02-12T22:32:07ZLand ownership just the start in foreign investment debate<p>Prime Minister Tony Abbott <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-02-11/government-tightens-rules-foreign-purchases-agricultural-land">has announced</a> long-promised changes to the rules for foreign land purchases and ownership in Australia. There are two key changes. First, the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) threshold will be reduced from A$252 million to A$15 million and be applied to cumulative purchases. Second, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be tasked with creating a “stocktake” of foreign-owned agricultural land, which may lead to a national register.</p>
<p>Media reports of this week’s announcement have largely focused on the merits of lowering the FIRB’s screening threshold. But the foreign-owned land stocktake and register should be equally scrutinised.</p>
<p>Spearheaded by high-profile land (and water) sales to non-Australians, such as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-12/sale-of-cubbie-station-confirmed/4310256">Cubbie Station</a>, the issue of foreign investment in agriculture has generated much discussion in recent years. Central to this sensitive issue is that no one knows exactly how much agricultural land foreign companies and governments own. And while there is uncertainty, the public debate seems locked to a dualism between “we are selling the family farm” and “overseas capital can only benefit agriculture”.</p>
<p><a href="http://theconversation.com/lost-in-the-paddock-australia-flying-blind-on-farm-ownership-23836">Last year,</a> my colleague and I called for better national data sets that clearly document who owns agricultural land and at what rate it is changing hands. A land register documenting foreign ownership of agricultural land would likely address this data deficiency, but only partially. </p>
<p>Details of what the ATO will produce are yet to be delivered. But, it seems the ATO will start to record new foreign land purchases from 1 July 2015 (irrespective of value). This may then be matched with the development of a national foreign-owned land register that draws on the land titles registers kept by state and territory governments.</p>
<h2>It’s not just about land</h2>
<p>So far, media reports indicate the register will be focused on land. But what about investment in agricultural businesses separate from direct investment in land? In the most recent <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/32E9BB779DABA3C1CA257905001453BC?opendocument">Agricultural Land and Water Ownership survey</a>, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that almost 90% of farmland was fully Australian owned and just under 99% of farm businesses were fully Australian owned.</p>
<p>Although that survey was <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommsen%2Ff49f61d7-23de-4f6f-b807-735c752ebcfa%2F0002%22">widely criticised</a>, the distinction remains important if efforts to document foreign land ownership are to prove as useful as possible. This is because although land ownership and the ownership of farm operations may or may not align, each is shaped by the other.</p>
<p>So, a register of foreign-owned land addresses only part of the huge data deficiencies related to foreign investment in the Australian farming sector. Despite the difficulties of untangling business structures, the ATO is perhaps best placed to align data collection and reporting on foreign ownership of both agricultural businesses and land.</p>
<h2>What about water?</h2>
<p>Australia’s water market and the legal separation of land and water titles further complicate the issue. It’s unclear whether a comparable register for foreign water ownership will be part of the ATO’s mandate.</p>
<p>Questions about who owns water access rights and at what rate they are changing hands are equally – or perhaps more – significant. This is especially in light of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ results that showed agricultural water entitlements with some degree of foreign ownership increased by <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/32E9BB779DABA3C1CA257905001453BC?opendocument">55% between 2010 and 2013</a>. In contrast, Australian land with some degree of foreign ownership remained largely unchanged. </p>
<p>Like land, the state and territory governments manage their water registers, so similar integration between the state/territory systems and any national register would be required.</p>
<h2>It’s time to broaden the debate</h2>
<p>The debate about foreign ownership of agricultural land and the means used to document it need to be broadened.</p>
<p>Whether it’s ownership of land, water or agricultural businesses, non-Australian sources of capital are only part of the picture. The foreign ownership debate needs to evolve to – or be merged with – a broader debate about the future of the agricultural sector.</p>
<p>Too often the future of agriculture is reduced to a binary logic of <a href="http://theconversation.com/who-will-be-the-next-round-of-investors-in-australian-farming-23773">family farmers and corporate farms</a>. However, the reality is there are many different ways to organise agricultural business and production. </p>
<p>Foreign investment is only one of the drivers of change. Australian institutional investment or private equity partnerships and their relationships with land and water ownership are also shaping the agricultural sector and rural communities. How these alternative business models may be changing will slip through the gaps of any land register focused exclusively on foreign ownership.</p>
<p>More data will not resolve the issue of foreign ownership. It also won’t magically set the future direction of agriculture. But, good data sets that capture the full spectrum of agricultural business and asset ownership models can better inform these debates.</p>
<p>If the ATO stocktake of foreign-owned land becomes a formal register, the prime minister’s announcement is a positive step. But it doesn’t go far enough. It’s time to move beyond the foreign- versus Australian-owned dichotomy. Expanding a national foreign-owned land register to include other agricultural assets and ownership changes among domestic investors will enable more informed discussion on what Australians really value about economic development, land and water resources and food production.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37517/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Smith's PhD was supported by a Linkage Grant from The Australian Research Council ('Rural adjustment or structural transformation? Discovering the destinations of exiting farm families'). She also received funding from the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority.</span></em></p>Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced long-promised changes to the rules for foreign land purchases and ownership in Australia. There are two key changes. First, the Foreign Investment Review Board…Erin Smith, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/232892014-02-19T19:24:48Z2014-02-19T19:24:48ZDeath of National Drought Policy takes us back to policy on the run<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41905/original/m2t9fktp-1392777458.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As prime minister Tony Abbott and his ministers tour drought-affected areas, the pressure is on Cabinet to cobble together a policy package in a hurry.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Paul Osborne</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s National Drought Policy, <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/924306/national-drought.pdf">introduced in 1992</a> and recognised internationally as world’s best practice, now appears to be dead. </p>
<p>In its place we are seeing back-to-the-future policymaking. This will result in farmers in different states receiving different types and levels of support, farmers without debt or unwilling to take on more debt left unsupported, and policy being made at the worst possible time – in the middle of a worsening drought.</p>
<h2>A land of drought and flooding rains</h2>
<p>Over a century ago, poet <a href="http://www.dorotheamackellar.com.au/archive/mycountry.htm">Dorothea Mackellar</a> recognised what it took policymakers until 1989 to acknowledge: drought is a normal part of Australia’s climate. Although we have very successfully developed European-style agriculture in this wide brown land, we have never had the certain weather patterns of Europe. Our farmers have adapted and managed their businesses knowing that the next drought is inevitable, even if its timing is unknown.</p>
<p>Until 1989, drought relief was provided to farmers through the natural disaster relief arrangements, under which the federal and state governments divide up financial responsibility for responding to natural disasters such as floods, bushfires and cyclones. In 1989, drought <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/drought-program-reform/history">was removed</a> from the list of events covered by these arrangements. </p>
<p>Drought is different from these other, more sudden, events – it is creeping and cumulative and does not have an easily identified beginning or end.</p>
<h2>The National Drought Policy</h2>
<p>In 1992, the federal and state governments agreed to a National Drought Policy. It was based on the principle that drought was one of many risks facing farm businesses, along with commodity price risk, exchange rate risk and interest rate risk. A package of support was put together that emphasised self-reliance and drought preparedness.</p>
<p>The package included <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/ec">“exceptional circumstances”</a> measures that provided additional relief during droughts of such severity that even the best manager could not be expected to be prepared. The package was designed to provide some certainty about what support would be available in the event of drought and to avoid policy making on the run.</p>
<p>The policy was not perfect and over the years under went a <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/86283/07-chapter4.pdf">series of revisions</a>. For example, a welfare component was introduced in 1994 to augment the business support on offer. It is notable that throughout the 1990s and the first decade of this century, the rhetoric of self-reliance and risk management remained and the policy enjoyed bipartisan support.</p>
<p>In 2008, the then-Labor government initiated a <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/drought-program-reform/national_review_of_drought_policy">comprehensive review</a> of the National Drought Policy. The review had several elements. The Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO assessed the likely impact of climate change on the severity and frequency of future droughts; an expert panel reported on the social impact of drought; and a Productivity Commission report analysed the effectiveness and efficiency of existing drought measures. </p>
<p>This review process held the promise of a refined, more effective National Drought Policy.</p>
<h2>Creating a policy vacuum</h2>
<p>Instead of improving an already sound policy, the aftermath of the review was the dismantling of some programs on the recommendation of the Productivity Commission; the announcement of a <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/assistance/farm-finance">farm finance package</a> that harked back to the 1930s; and the promise of a <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/drought-program-reform">farm welfare program</a> to begin in July 2014. </p>
<p>This response, announced by the Labor government, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-03/government-announces-new-national-drought-policy/4667782">took four years to emerge</a>. It was accompanied by an <a href="http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/drought-program-reform/iga-national-drought-program-reform">Intergovernmental Agreement</a> on drought with the state governments that was little more than a restatement of the principles underpinning the original 1992 package – but without the detail.</p>
<p>The incoming Abbott government inherited this policy vacuum. Now, faced with worsening drought on the eastern seaboard, the government is scrambling to put together a package to meet the immediate needs of drought-stricken farmers and their families.</p>
<p>Also signalling the demise of the National Drought Policy is the return to the language of natural disaster. In recent weeks, both prime minister <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-to-announce-drought-package-for-farmers-within-a-week-20140217-32usc.html">Tony Abbott</a> and treasurer <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/03/drought-farmers-have-help-already-hockey">Joe Hockey</a> have referred to the drought in such terms.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41907/original/rfpg8rzv-1392778397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce is pushing for generous relief while government references to natural disaster implicitly reject the policy premise that drought is a foreseeable aspect of farm planning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Daniel Munoz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making better ready-to-go policy</h2>
<p>In the absence of a considered drought policy package, governments run the risk of ad hoc policymaking. That is not in the best interest of farmers, their communities or the sector as a whole. The National Drought Policy sought to avoid this by putting a stable package of measures in place that would be ready to access when drought inevitably arrived.</p>
<p>At present, farmers are stressed and politicians are <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/17/fears-longer-drought-pressures-govt">under pressure to respond</a>. This is not a good environment for sound policymaking. Unfortunately there is little choice: the drought is worsening and policymakers need to act.</p>
<p>Whatever is put in place, however, should be temporary, while policymakers go back to the drawing board and rethink drought policy settings in a more measured way. A good starting point would be to revisit the <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/6206176?">1990 Drought Policy Review Task Force Report</a> that informed the development of the National Drought Policy in the first place. </p>
<p>Perhaps it would be worthwhile for policymakers to reacquaint themselves with other previous relief schemes, the reviews of those schemes and the reasons they were dismantled. It would also be useful for them to approach the task with an open mind. They should consider alternative policy instruments, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/farm-finance-package-is-flawed-and-there-is-a-better-option-13946">income-contingent loans</a>, to support farm businesses in need.</p>
<p>Recent drought policy developments suggest a serious loss of corporate memory. The original National Drought Policy was not perfect but it was preferable to the policy vacuum facing the nation now. It would pay today’s policymakers to consider the 1992 policy and build on it rather than abandon it altogether.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Botterill received funding from the Australian Research Council in 2010 and 2011 to investigate the role of science in drought policy development in Australia and the USA (Project DP1096759).</span></em></p>Australia’s National Drought Policy, introduced in 1992 and recognised internationally as world’s best practice, now appears to be dead. In its place we are seeing back-to-the-future policymaking. This…Linda Botterill, Professor in Australian Public Policy, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.