Australian Fair Food Forum

Farmers and Climate Change

These notes were taken from a group discussion session at the Food Sovereignty Convergence in Canberra, 23/24 November 2017.

  • Focus currently in QLD and land clearing
  • Menu for change
  • Urban landscapes and peoples relationship with them
  • Canberra- high number of eucalypts dying- need to be replanting for climate change capacity
  • Need to be planting for pollinators
  • Pollinator corridors
  • Climate impacts on our food growing systems
  • Needs to be a collaborative effort
  • Big issue, broad conversation
  • Farmers doing large scale regenerative projects
  • Food for Thought festival WA
  • Adaptation and mitigations→ what actions are appropriate?
  • Sustainable food systems and restorative agriculture
  • Let’s amplify what positive things are happening in the world. Focus on what is strong, not wrong.
  • Establishing networks of change and working in partnership
  • Media and communications is focused on the dire situation, not take action
  • Traditional land practices most resilient systems
  • Young people moving into the farming space- developing positive stories, inspiring hope.
  • Farmers get alienated for being seen to make a stand. Someone who is respected in conventional farming but has a lot of knowledge on the benefits
  • Carbon studies- grain vs grass vs regenerative – what is the best way?
  • Need to work with farmers to develop pollinator corridors- farmers need support
  • Go from pollinator desert to pollinator forage
  • Bees are about food security and sustainable farming is about bee security
  • Don’t focus on monocultures. Regenerative farming needs to diversify.