Organic Boom: Industry seeks election promises to unlock $5.8b future
This week, the Organic Development Group reached out to all major political parties to put forward a series of election priorities to help grow and protect the organic sector.
Key election priorities:
- Implement domestic regulation within 12 months
- Accelerate market access
- Improve data collection
- Strengthen traceability and biosecurity
Australia’s certified organic industry has released a detailed and costed list of election priorities ahead of the federal election which have the potential to more than double the annual value of the $2.6b sector.
Once considered a niche sector, certified organic agriculture has evolved into a mainstream contributor to Australian agriculture and export markets, underpinned by the industry in Australia boasting more than 50 per cent of the world’s certified organic farmland.
Yet Federal Government policy settings have not matched pace with the industry.
The Organic Development Group (ODG), which represents nine of the largest industry and certification bodies in Australia, has developed election priorities in consultation with member groups, producers, government departments and stakeholders, and identified key areas that could unlock new growth and lucrative market access opportunities.
Jackie Brian, CEO of Australian Organic Limited (AOL), said the priorities were cost-effective, evidence-based, and ready to implement.
“The certified organic industry is calling for action in four key areas this election: regulatory certainty, market access support, greater data collection and stronger traceability and biosecurity systems,” Ms Brian said.
“For too long the contribution of the certified organic industry has been overlooked. Together we support more than 22,000 jobs and can help Australian agriculture reach its ambitious goal of being a $100b industry by 2030, but we can’t do it without the right settings.
“The certified organic industry receives no direct government support, a stark contrast to the United States and the European Union, and there are currently no organic-specific levy programs even though organic operators contribute significantly to levies in their commodity areas.
“A modest investment has the potential to reap great rewards and independent analysis commissioned by AOL shows the right policy framework has potential to more than double the industry’s value to $5.8b.”
Damien Rankine, General Manager of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) Organic, said vital information on the industry was also lacking.
“Certified organic farmers are required to set aside at least five per cent of their land for biodiversity, yet this contribution is not measured, recorded or aggregated at a governmental level, which is a serious oversight when you consider there are approximately 53 million hectares of certified organic farmland in Australia,” Mr Rankine said.
“There must be a sense of urgency from our incoming federal government. We must keep pace with our international competitors and have a system that properly informs decision making and supports industry growth, which is why we have set clear and achievable timelines on the delivery of our priorities.”
Regulatory certainty
Australia remains the only OECD country without a mandated domestic organic standard, which has been repeatedly identified as an essential requirement by the organic industry.
General Manager of certification body Organic Food Chain, Kari Martin, said that without a clear legislated standard on what is considered organic, the industry faced barriers to international market access, consumer trust issues and unfair competition from uncertified products.
“There is a growing awareness of the need for domestic regulation, with three separate parliamentary reports published in the past three months outlining the potential benefits, so what we need now is action,” Ms Martin said.
The Trading North report, issued by the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee in November, recommended a review of the domestic regulatory framework to ensure it was aligned with international standards and rival jurisdictions and to “define and regulate organic products within Australia’s domestic market”.
A Senate Committee report released earlier this month declared a properly designed domestic regulation “could be beneficial for import and export markets” and “provide additional consumer confidence in Australian produce”.
Last week, the House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Science and Resources released Food for Thought, and issued the strongest recommendation to date for domestic regulation:
“The Committee recommends that the Australian Government, in consultation with industry stakeholders, implement a program of certification for the domestic organic food market, and amend the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s definition of the term ‘organic’ to mean ‘certified organic’.”
Timeline: The ODG has called for domestic regulation to be implemented within 12 months of the federal election.
Budget (over four years): $5.22m.
Accelerating Market Access
If domestic regulation is implemented, the Australian government can move quickly to negotiate equivalency arrangements with key trading partners, such as South Korea and the United States, which currently require their own certifications. This would take considerable cost out of the system.
Certified organic operators seeking to export also face other challenges, including limited information on potential markets, a lack of organic expertise from agricultural counsellors and an absence of targeted grant programs for organic exporters.
The Trading North report recommended improving the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICOR) and Austrade websites, appointing a dedicated expert on organic markets in Asia, allocating funding for improved resources for the organic industry, and creating grant programs for organic exporters.
Timeline: The ODG has called for the recommendations of the Trading North report to be implemented in the next term of government.
Budget (over four years): $5.3m.
Measuring the impact and potential of the organic industry
A persistent challenge for the organic sector has been the lack of data and measurement in Australia. The United States and the European Union have also made substantial investments to support organic production. Therefore, the ODG has called for ongoing production of the Australian Organic Market Report, an API-based data transfer system for certification bodies, and industry benchmarking and regulatory reporting tailored to the organic sector.
Timeline: The ODG has called for the above measures to be implemented during the next term of government.
Budget (over four years): $2.325m.
Strengthening traceability and biosecurity
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are prohibited in certified organic production systems. Australia’s biosecurity strategies do not consider organic production, leaving gaps in protection for organic operations. As seed production increasingly shifts offshore, the risk of contamination grows.
To protect the integrity of Australia’s organic sector, the ODG has called for a national GMO supply chain testing program to verify compliance with organic standards, dedicated staff to monitor GMO developments, funding support for domestic seed production, and a centralised digital certification system to improve traceability.
Timeline: The ODG has called for the above measures to be implemented during the next term of government.
Budget (over four years): $19m.
Image: A Parliamentary Friends of Australia’s Organic Industry (PFAOI) event at Parliament House attended by (from left) PFAOI co-chair Aaron Violi, Soulfresh Founder and CEO Didi Lo, AOL CEO Jackie Brian, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins, Manna Farms General Manager David Keens, and PFAOI co-chair Dan Repacholi.
