Farmers’ input needed for workforce survey

In the lead up to the 2019 Federal Election, the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has launched its 2019 Farm Workforce Survey and is actively seeking farmers’ participation in the survey.

NFF said the short survey, which should take around 10 minutes to complete, will better inform the organisation about farmers' workforce and labour needs.

NFF President, Fiona Simson, said evidence to date showed that finding workers have long been an issue for farmers, which is proving to be a hindrance to their productivity.

"However, without solid statistical data to quantify the extent of farmers’ labour woes it's difficult to formulate acceptable solutions," Simson said.

“This survey aims to collect evidence that will indicate the size of the problem and its impact on both individual farm businesses and the sector more generally," she said.

"We will also gauge farmers’ level of awareness of, and attitude towards, various programs which attempt to address the problem, and their ‘real world’ effectiveness.

"The responses will be critical in shaping the NFF’s farm workforce policies and informing our advocacy to the next Government."

Simson is asking farmers across all sectors to chip in and do their part in helping the organisation achieve its vision for agriculture to reach $100 billion in farm gate output by 2030.

"To realise this objective, we must address a number of challenges before the sector, including attracting enough workers with the requisite skills," Simson said.

"This will require a multi-pronged approach, made up of boosting the number of Australians pursuing a career in agriculture and leveraging the opportunity presented by seasonal workers and working holiday makers."

The survey will be open until May 20, 2019.