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Science & Innovation

Agricultural scientists

deliver on innovation

Written by David Hamilton - Chair, Ag Institute Australia

Agricultural and Natural Resource Management scientists provide much of the
innovation that has been essential to maintaining a profitable and progressive
Australian agriculture. Our agriculture is among the most productive and efficient in
the world, and is also regarded as being one of the most innovative.

o we deserve this development of new and improved
title? What leads to pesticides which are environmentally
innovation? What are benign, the solving of productivity
our past successes problems associated with soil fertility,
Dand what do we improvements in livestock fertility
need to do to foster innovation for future and nutrition – the list goes on.
generations? These innovations are incremental in
Access to science, Technology, Innovation, Productivity and Profitability
nature but all are nonetheless very
Science underpins much of the important in improving productivity
innovation in Australian agriculture, in agriculture.
but the process of innovation is neither
straightforward nor predictable. Most of these innovations have come
from scientists, although scientists
Some of the innovations we have have not accomplished all of this
seen in the last thirty years have alone. Most of their good ideas have
been transformational in nature, been nurtured by agribusiness
and some have been incremental. and developed and adopted by
Both are important. Transformational progressive farmers.
innovations, such as the technologies
that the modern cotton industry Productivity gains depend on
has embraced and the changes innovation
in dryland cropping with zero or While productivity gains in certain
“Modern reduced tillage and controlled traffic, agricultural production systems have
Australian GM have been amazing for those of us been substantial (more than 1.5 per
cotton varieties who have worked closely with these cent yearly), other sectors have had
have delivered industries. more modest growth.
an 89 per cent
reduction in use But so have been other innovations In the past three decades, for
of pesticides...” such as the breeding of pest- and example, the cotton industry gains
disease-resistant varieties, the in productivity have exceeded 1.5

The Australian Farmer • Issue 2017