Migration visas could assist aging Australian agriculture industry

Details

Created on Monday, 16 April 2012 17:10

Written by Editorial staff

The average age of the Australian population has been rising over the last few years, as life expectancies increase and birth rates slow.

This demographic change has raised some concern in industries across the country - with questions being asked on how the phenomenon will impact on key markets.

One of the most prominent of these has been identified in a recent report from KPMG, which stated that the agriculture sector stood to lose much in the way of its skilled workforce as experienced hands begin to retire.

In a submission to the government's Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, KPMG found that nearly half of Australia's farming workforce could have the option of retiring within the next ten years.

The publication shows that the average age of agriculture professionals in 2011 was 56 - and that many did not have progressive "exit strategies" in place to continue the profitable operation of their properties when they move on.

Researcher at KPMG asserted: "Demographic change is set to place significant pressure on Australia’s agricultural labour force.

"It will threaten local production capacity as the labour force becomes older and exit from the industry, and younger rural people move to capital cities for higher earning jobs and better services or in other sectors such as mining."

Backing these statements are the facts that between 2001 and 2006, there has been a reduction in the agricultural workforce of approximately 41,000 people - a trend that could spell disaster without some sort of outside assistance.

While migration visas and foreign investments remain a good source of labour and resources for some industry sectors - particularly mining, infrastructure and construction - the unpredictable nature of farming makes it a risky prospect for potential investors looking at short-term gains.

With a long-term focus being a better business model for agriculture initiatives, international assistance could be found if skilled overseas workers begin taking on a permanent residency application - or even consider the prospects of obtaining citizenship.

Without this kind of strategy KPMG suggests that there will be a slippery slope towards having untrained labour working the nation's farms.

"There is a considerable risk that there will be a lack of experienced farmers to train
younger farmers who will be critical to driving productivity improvements and adapting to
challenges such as climate change, increased competition and an increase on focus on
the environmental impacts of farming," said the report.