AS ONE of around 25 leaders from industry and research institutions to participate in a program of briefing and site visits during the Australia/US Business Week, it was pleasing to see a strong presence for food and agribusiness interests.
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The program of events showcased innovation in the sector; helped strengthen business contacts and alliances; and also provided an opportunity to pursue investment.
It was particularly timely given the recent major developments for Australian agriculture like the devaluation of the dollar, the Japan, South Korea and China free trade agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Northern Australia and Agricultural Competitiveness white papers, the National Innovation and Science Agenda and the establishment of the industry-led Food and Agriculture Industry Growth Centre.
Australia was well represented by leaders from the meat, horticulture, grain, aquaculture, food and farming technology sectors, several of our universities and the CSIRO.
We were part of a much larger group of Australian business leaders looking at everything from digital technology, resources and energy, medical technology and tourism.
We also had the chance to meet with Australia's new Ambassador to the US and former Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey.
Led by the former Trade Minister and now Special Trade Envoy Andrew Robb, the agribusiness delegation was largely based in Chicago - the heart of the vast US mid-west food bowl, which largely focuses on the production of corn, soybeans and pork.
The State of Illinois alone has over 2500 food production companies and agriculture accounts for around AUD$25 billion in revenues annually.
Many global agribusiness companies are headquartered in or near the State and some major Australian companies have also established a manufacturing presence there.
The Mid-West is also the home of many leading agricultural universities.
EY's Global Agribusiness Leader Rob Dongoski presented analysis of the state of agriculture globally, and the megatrends that will impact on the sector in the decades to come.
There are around 500 million farms globally, but with vastly differing levels of size and productivity.
Indeed, around 63 per cent of global food production comes from around 187,000 farms - less than 1pc of the total.
Farmers today produce 250pc more food than in 1950 with 5pc less inputs.
But there is a clear challenge ahead - how will we feed the estimated global population of nine billion in 2050, a population with a strong growth in the middle class and the associated demand for higher levels of protein in diets?
Mr Dongoski pointed to significant productivity improvements being embraced by agriculture through the digital revolution, which extends from on-farm devices and the resultant data use through to improved supply chains.
Other developments such as - vertical farms; the improved use of water; the level of adoption of higher-yield genetically modified crops and advanced breeding techniques; less restrictive trade barriers; and ensuring high levels of cyber-security - will all be critical factors in feeding the world’s population.
The extraordinary impact of digital technologies in the food and agriculture sector was a key theme at one of the final sessions ‘We're all software companies - regardless of the business we're in’.
The session was facilitated by the head of the CSIRO's Flagship on Food, Nutrition and Bioproducts Professor Martin Cole, with the Institute of Food Technologists.
We discussed how important it was to learn lessons from the past 20-years and consider what that means for the coming decades in terms of how we have seen our farms, businesses and economies change.
This session also allowed for a discussion about nutrition - particularly personalised nutrition as a preventative health measure - and the increasing consumer demands for transparency.
Related to this were the key issues of provenance, traceability, and food safety.
The agribusiness group also met with a group of AgTech venture capital investors and principals at a roundtable in San Francisco.
These investors and principals specialise in bringing advanced technologies to market with cutting edge innovation in the areas of crop and animal science, sensory systems, breeding, biotechnology, nutrition, food safety and general early stage investment.
Venture capital plays an important role in the creation and sustenance of innovation pipelines, given 60pc of all technology venture capital finance originated in a 50 mile strip of Silicon Valley.
Overall, the Australia/US Business Week experience helped establish many new connections among agribusiness leaders from one of our major export destinations and in one of the global centres of innovation for our industry.
Australia's farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and exporters - from individuals and families through to large corporations - have made this one of our largest industries and largest employers, particularly in regional and rural Australia.
Export growth in recent years for many commodities has been strong and the sector is attracting significant interest in business investment.
While there are many issues to manage - from droughts, to water availability, to pests and input costs - the future is bright.
* Andrew Metcalfe is EY's Oceania Agribusiness Leader and a former Secretary of the Federal Agriculture Department
