FlourishFiles

National Farmers Federation Congress 2012 - My Day One Highlights

This week I got along to the NFF's Congress in Canberra where around 300 delegates were discussing the Food and Fibre Boom - what is it? And how can Australia grab a piece of the action?

The day started with welcomes from NFF President Jock Laurie, Ngambri elder Shane Mortimer, Coles representative Robert Sadler and was opened by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig.

The first "keynote" speaking position was given to a comedian/hoaxer who led us all on a merry path of GM fantasy. Unfortunately, many delegates tweeted his comments in good faith before the joke was revealed - ouch. 

We were informed by our next speaker, David Thomas, that he wasn't an actor. (But could we be sure?) David is the CEO of Think Global Consulting and his speech was my first highlight of the day. 

He got us thinking about the food and fibre boom in the context of Australia's place in the world. 

Traditionally, the 3 inputs we think of driving booming economies are land, people and capital.  All three need to be in place to drive growth. If it only took land, then Russia would be the world's biggest economy. If it only took population, China and India would be the world's biggest economies and relying solely on capital make the US, China and Japan our biggest economies.

In the next 50 years, we will most likely add water, food and energy as drivers of booming economies. And pending development opportunities, that places Brazil and Russia in the box seat. 

What an interesting case study Brazil makes. Only 40 years ago, the UK's economy was three times bigger than Brazil's. This year, Brazil has overtaken the UK to be the world's 6th largest economy.

We all know it's the rise of the middle class that presents the best opportunities for Australian agriculture. Already, 68% of Russians are what the World Bank terms "middle income" earners. In China that number is 12% and India, 3%. 

In 2010 GDP per capita in the US was $40k. It is estmiated that in 2050, it will be $80k in the US, $60k in Russa, $43k in Brazil and $40k in China. When we think about the current rates of consumption and consumerism in the US, imagine the opportunities of a similar lifestyle aspiration in Russia, China and Brazil. 
 

 

David Thomas' slide showing the common attributes of the BRIC economies

 

Later sessions included panels with political representatives and experts on the key issues affecting agriculture, including the Basin Plan, R&D, coal seam gas and foreign investment. 

 

The foreign investment panel which included Federal Trade Minister, Hon Craig Emerson MP

 

My second highlight of the day was the speech by Patrick Medley from IBM Global Business Services, who introduced us to the producer / consumer relationship of the future.

Patrick tells us that ultimately technology is changing the consumer. They are now more "instrumented, interconnected and intelligent" than ever before. Their expectations about service are also now heightened in a world where "everything is known." 

IBM studies over the last 2 years show the consumer is talking about ME -

• Serve Me (no longer about loyalty to a brand, but a relationship with a brand)
• Listen to Me ("don't tell me what's good for me, let's have a dialogue about my needs")
• Know Me (Mass, generic marketing no longer resonates)
• Empower Me  ("how can your brand/product help me?")

But it's also about the communities of "we" that revolve around our interests and roles in life. These are the voices we trust about the brands and products that we buy.  A member of your tennis club praising a product on Facebook is a more powerful incentive to buy than an advertisement on a bus shelter. Think about what communities you are part of, that may bring customers to your door.

We gain trust through building relationships. But trust is harder to gain than ever before. Online shopping means the relationship has to evolve from people interacting in a shop, to assisting a consumer online, quite possibly in another country.

How does this apply to agriculture? Patrick reminds us that there is a growing interest in where our food comes from. He suggests famers need a higher profile in marketing products, building relationships with consumers through a mutual understanding of production practices. Amen to that.

 

(My final highlight of the day was seeing a herd of Art4Agriculture Archibulls at the Congress cocktail party at the National Gallery of Australia.)

 

National Farmers Federation Congress 2012 - My Day Two Highlights

 

The Prime Minister kicked off day two of the NFF Congress, immediately followed by the Leader of the Opposition.  Was this a highlight? Well, political speeches don't excite me too much these days. (If you're interested, you can read the speeches here and here). But it was great to see the NFF could attract both Leaders to Congress, on the same day. It is a measure of the NFF's influence, as well as the importance of the sector, that delegates were able to hear directly from the two Leaders. 

Prime Minister, Julia Gillard addressing NFF Congress...

 

...followed by Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott

 

The political speeches were broken down and analysed in a session with NFF President Jock Laurie and immediate past President David Crombie, facilitated by Kieran Gilbert from Sky News.  This was a great session; two wise heads being led through the issues by a seasoned political journalist. It was relaxed but offered some great insights into the political process and industry's place within it. A highlight!
 

Jock Laurie and David Crombie on the big screen during their session

 

I missed the Asian Century discussion, but enjoyed the Perspectives panel that had a mix of famers and industry-types sharing their views on the issues covered at Congress. It was interesting that the six panelists all had a positive outlook for agriculture, which was slightly askew to some views in the audience. Next time I'd like to hear more from the naysayers, in order to fully explore some of the issues.
 

Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay and beef farmer Alison McIntosh on big screen duing the Perspectives panel

My final highlight for the day was Stefan Hajkowicz from CSIRO Futures speaking on Global Megatrends and how they will change the way we live. A tough gig to speak at 4pm on the final day, but a compelling topic kept the room engaged. In 2009, CSIRO started looking at social, economic and environmental patterns would change the way we live. They've just updated the list and have identified these 6 megatrends:

 

More from Less - impacts of resource scarcity

Going, Going, Gone - challenges of shrinking biodiversity

Silk Highway - the rise of Asia

Forever Young - issues around the ageing population

Virtually Here - the interconnectedness provided by technology

Great expectations - the changing consumer


To me, this list could have been solely about agriculture! It is interesting that it's a list of trends and challenges that face the entire globe. The fact that our sector is already on top of most of these issues (at least in awareness) gives me hope that we will thrive.

You can download the Global Megatrends report at CSIRO Futures website.

My overall highlight? Well, that was actually catching up with so many friends, acquaintances, clients and former colleagues. In particular, chatting to WA Farmers President, Dale Park who I haven't seen since I worked at WA Farmers - 10+ years ago. We just picked up where we left off, defending WA's rights in a range of areas... (It's like I never left!)

After two days of Congress, my feet are killing me and my voice a bit scratchy from all the talking. Agriculture really is one big family and that's why I love it. Yes, we are a dysfunctional family at times, arguing and bickering amongst ourselves, but in the end we put our differences aside and find the common links to support each other. 

To me the NFF Congress was about identifying those common higher-level links and opportunities that unite us all and I think it delivered in spades.