One of the biggest megatrends facing Australian agriculture over the next 20 years will be producing food that meets the ethical needs of even “choosier” customers.
Growing consumer expectations of high food standards was one of five megatrends highlighted in a new big-picture report just released by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).
The dynamic research was discussed at the ABARES Outlook Conference in Canberra in March with a draft report then “road-tested” at regional workshops in Wagga Wagga and Cairns, to gather feedback from stakeholders.
Report co-author Stefan Hajkowicz told industry and government stakeholders at the Canberra launch that the feedback was sought from farmers and others to ensure the report wasn’t just “researchers dreaming up ideas”.
Dr Hajkowicz - a principal scientist in strategy and foresight at the CSIRO - wrote the report along with Dr Sandra Eady, a CSIRO Agricultural Productivity Research Scientist based at Armidale, NSW.
In summary, the five megatrends were; a hungrier world; a wealthier world; fussier customers; transformative technologies; and a bumpier ride, in terms of the industry’s expanding risk profile from climate change and other factors like globalisation.
The report said the future consumer would be increasingly empowered and motivated to choose food and fibre products with specialised characteristics, while today’s consumer had different tastes, preferences and concerns to those 20 years ago.
