Sustainable Agriculture Manager and Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator Peter Clifton.
South West NRM will continue leading work in the region to future-proof farming following its appointment to the Australian Government’s national network of facilitators charged with supporting farmers to remain profitable as they transition to more sustainable practices.
There are 52 Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators (SAFs) across Australia who are funded by the Australian Government’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Program until June 2028 to support farmers, industry and community groups to adopt new and innovative practices and provide a key point of contact for landholders seeking to become more sustainable.
South West NRM’s SAF role addition, follows its appointment by the Australian Government earlier this year as a Regional Delivery Partner for supply of Environmental Protection, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management services to the region.
South West NRM CEO Dr Manda Page said the organisation was well positioned to take on the new Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator role, having already undertaken similar work on behalf of the Australian Government over the past decade under an alternative funding model.
“Through our objective to future-proof farming, we work at the intersection of environmental science and farm gate realities,” Dr Page said.
“Over the past decade we have developed strong relationships with producers, grower groups, agricultural industry experts and researchers which now enables us to be an effective conduit for information sharing to help drive change.”
At a time when the impacts of climate change are reducing their profits, farmers have also found themselves in the front lines of the transition to a new low-emissions world with agriculture responsible for 16.8%* of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Agriculture was the most vulnerable sector to climate impact and changes in seasonal conditions had already reduced farm profits by an average 23%* over the past 20 years.
*Source – National Statement on Climate Change and Agriculture
“Our producers are critical to our ongoing food security while also performing a key role in achieving national emissions reduction targets so it is our very great honour to be able to support them as they navigate this terrain by providing clear and credible information where it is needed, enable better decisions and facilitate partnerships to solve problems,” Dr Page said.
Highlights of previous Sustainable Agriculture projects completed by South West NRM have included:
- Applying cutting-edge e-DNA science to improving productivity for avocado and canola farmers by tracking pollinator behaviour;
- Revealing clear cost and productivity benefits of a sustainable approach to growing pasture, compared to traditional methods through a year-long farming project;
- Training farmers in monitoring their greenhouse gas emissions;
- ‘Farmer-friendly’ soil carbon monitoring protocol developed to assist decisions around soil carbon farming.
This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Program via the Natural Heritage Trust.
