"Farming is significantly more than a block of dirt with an animal or plant on it," so says the National Farmers Federation labour shortage recommendations for 2008.
The National Farmers’ Federation recently released a report with recommendations for addressing the skills shortage in the agriculture sector.
From 2002 to 2007, roughly 100,000 jobs were lost and many were sparked by the 2002-2003 drought.
According to locals in the Bogan Shire of western New South Wales, farmers simply cannot afford to pay workers during drought. In addition to this, there are few training incentives which exist, and few financial incentives for apprentices.
The decline in workers means that when the drought breaks on a larger scale, farmers will not work to their full capacity, as there aren’t the workers to help out. Denita Wawn, of the NFF, talks to the Daily Liberal and reflects that “People will not be able to plant optimum levels because they are concerned about lack of labour for harvest.”
The largest decline in labour has been in areas including farm hands, livestock farmers, shearers and heavy farm equipment operators.
The NFF has recently released a series of recommendations to address the labour shortage in farming, for the government to address the practical and cultural attitudes which create a barrier in encouraging people to enter the farming industry.
These recommendations come in a variety of forms.
One of these, says Ms Wawn, is to continue to “promote the islander seasonal worker concept”, in which immigration laws are relaxed and Pacific Islanders can come to Australia on a seasonal basis to pick fruit and vegetables.
The NFF also recommends exploring the viewpoints of tourism and infrastructure to accommodate travelling workers. The aims of the report also include advertising the benefits of seasonal work to grey nomads, students on a gap year and refugees.
The NFF also proposes to advocate for a ‘Skills Passport’ to coordinate workers with when and where they’re needed.
One myth which the report aims to dispel is that farmers don’t require a high level of education – which is quite the opposite, and, due to the skills shortage, the industry is lacking in educated professionals “Indeed six of the most demanded occupations in agriculture require trade-level skills or above, with three of the six being managerial and thus senior occupations in terms of skills, experience and training.”
As an extension of this, the industry is highly technologically advanced, and requires education to master the farming techniques. “Mechanisation, automation, and technological advancements have made farming a much more highly skilled industry than ever before. ”
The NFF hoped to dispel the image which many people have of the farming lifestyle, because if continued, the implications involve Australia’s capacity to produce it’s own food, and manage the very large tracks of land, by keeping it free of environmental pests could be at risk.
“NFF has highlighted that the majority of Australians still hold the old-world view of farming.”
One point which would be of interest to those entering the agricultural industry, is that drought doesn’t mean the end of an income, or that there are no jobs. In fact, the report highlights careers in the farming industry which benefit from drought – such as those in Agricultural Science careers.
One attempt to think outside the box to encourage workers to enter the industry is “to foster relations with local backpacker hostels and accommodation providers. Groups of farmers have already entered innovative joint ventures in townships, deriving profits from this and securing workers.”
However, one of the strongest points to emerge from the report is a need for a cultural viewpoint to shift in seeing farming as an industry which is highly skilled, innovative, requires a high-level of education and can be financially rewarding, irrespective of climate conditions.
“Recognition of farming in primary schools is almost non-existent. Teacher and career advice on what is ‘modern farming’ is severally lacking as is the
encouragement by Principals for their schools, classes, and teachers to engage with one of the more significant employing industries in their catchment area.”
For the entire report, see the NFF website
Sources
Daily Liberal, 26th March, 2008 and National Farmers Federation, 2008 Labour Shortage Plan.
