Australia needs to seriously address ways to enhance the capacity of our closest neighbours, particularly Indonesia, when it comes to being able to withstand climate change driven food shocks and supply chain problems.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Institute for Integrated Economic research chair, John Blackburn, has used the latest FarmWriters' event, held lst week in Sydney, to discuss a range of supply chain challenges.
"What we should be doing is to our food production capability, not just for our own food security or for the economic benefits of exporting, but we need to think seriously about how we use our production potential to stabilise neighbours, such as Indonesia, in a food crisis," Mr Blackburn said.
"The projections for Indonesia's food production, as a result of climate change, are not good. Imagine if 270 million of our close neighbours had a food crisis ... and imagine if that nation fell apart. We do not want that to happen."
Mr Blackburn argues the agricultural sector is critical for the security of the region, in terms of being able to support our neighbours in a crisis.
"The sector is an important strategy, as important as defence because, if you can help stabilise our neighbours, that's going to help Australia. But, we are not prepared. As a nation, we wait for something to happen then do we something about it to the best of our ability. And then we congratulate ourselves on how well we reacted," Mr Blackburn said.
Also read:Tamworth Angus weaner steers top $1160
Also read: Help wanted to fulfil plan commitments
"We are ill-prepared as a nation for a growing range of risks we face and this will impact our national security resilience, because, as the pandemic showed us, we are so busy reacting to things that we don't have time to prepare."
For the past three years, Mr Blackburn, a former Air Force deputy chief, has led the National Resilience Project that has highlighted a lack of resilience in Australia in addressing the pandemic, climate change impacts, the ongoing energy transition, and growing regional security threats.
Mr Blackburn told the FarmWriters' lunch of his concern about the lack of sovereign capability in trusted supply chains. He has labelled Australia "a complacent nation".
"Our reactions are too little too late. For example, if China stops the supply chain, we will have big problems. But if we pause iron ore or baby products to China, they will survive," Mr Blackburn said.
"While political and agricultural leaders reassure us that our food security is not at risk, I don't believe they can be certain of that claim.
"We are facing significant economic headwinds and our economy won't go back to what it once was."
