With its proximity to Asian markets, a growing demand for food and fibre, and 1.5m ha of irrigated land, northern Australia has potential to expand its agriculture industry, according to the CSIRO report ‘Unlocking the potential of northern Australia’.
The report found that 2m GL of water arrive in northern Australia, of which 15,000 GL of water could be made available for irrigation, which could mean 1.5m ha of irrigated land.
These numbers are 25 times more than the 60,000 ha of agriculture land found by a federal government-funded 2010 report by Northern Australia Land & Water Taskforce found.
According to the CSIRO's Peter Stone, the discrepancies between the data found in 2010 and 2016 are due to improved collection methods and analysis.
'The 2010 report gives a really accurate account of the understanding at that time,' Stone told ABC Rural. 'But what we've had the opportunity to do over the last five or six years is add to the water component of it.
'So since 2010, we've now got methods that can rapidly and pretty cheaply locate water resources, find out how much water is in a system and then analyse how you can capture, store and use that water.
'So really what's changed, is our understanding of the water resources in the north and how they may be used for agriculture and other purposes.'
The 2016 report also examined the region's soil and found 16m ha of soil suitable for “intensive” agriculture, that could be suitable for more than 70 different crops, including mangoes and melons.
The report found a renewed interest in northern Australia due to its proximity to Asia; the increasing global demand fro food and fibre; and the development of economically sustainable regional communities.
Patrick Vizzone, regional head of food and agribusiness for Asia at National Australia Bank, told Fruitnet last November that that Australian government had been placing increasing emphasis on driving investment northern Australia.
“Recently, we have seen a lot of emphasis placed on northern Australia. You have in northern Australia 17m ha of arable soil – that’s an area equivalent to the landmass of Cambodia or Uruguay,” Vizzone said. “It’s where the bulk of Australia’s rainfall comes. If Australia can harness just a portion of this area, it’s a big deal. The government has earmarked three key areas of investment – beef, aquaculture and horticulture.”
Key messages from the CSIRO report are that while there is potential for irrigated agriculture in the region, it is constrained by supply chains, or lack there of, and a need for markets for ‘high value’ crops, as well as improved processing facilities.
The remote region is in need of better infrastructure, more capital investment, and the development of cost-efficient supply chains that can transport the produce to new and viable export markets. Labour shortage in the agriculture industry is another issue flagged by the report.
Northern Australia is already a major exporter of beef and sugar, ranking fifth largest in the world for both its beef and sugar exports, together which are a A$3bn-a-year business.
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