Climate Resilient Agriculture: Lessons from the EU and the Land Down Under

Australian Mission to the EU /Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

Time: Thursday, 21. January 2021, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (CET)

Languages: English, German

Summary:
The panel was an opportunity for Australian and EU farmers and policy makers to showcase world-leading sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. Farmers from Australia and the EU presented how they have had to innovate to adapt and thrive when facing challenging climatic conditions. They stressed the importance of providing farmers with the necessary tools by investing in research and development and by cooperating internationally to share knowledge and best practice. Panellists also underlined the importance of a stable regulatory environment, with decisions based on science, and of maintaining free and fair global trade. Agriculture, panellists agreed, will continue to play a vital role in providing the world with nutritious food and doing so in a way that looks after and improves nature and the environment.

Recording

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Moderator

Frédéric SimonEditor, Energy & Environment

Introductory statement

The Honourable David LittleproudAustralian Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management

David was elected to represent the vast Western Queensland electorate of Maranoa at the 2016 Federal election. He was born and raised in Chinchilla and was educated at Chinchilla State High School and Toowoomba Grammar School.

For two decades prior to entering politics, David worked in agribusiness, living and working in a number of towns across the Maranoa including Miles, Nanango, Charleville, St George, Stanthorpe and Warwick.

In February 2020, David was elected Deputy Leader of the Nationals and appointed Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management. He was first appointed to Cabinet in 2017 and has previously held the Water Resources, Rural Finance and Natural Disaster portfolios.

David has three sons and lives in Clifton, Queensland. He enjoys his footy (league and union) and is also a keen cricketer, having played many seasons for the Inglewood Cricket Club.

Panel guests

Norbert LinsGerman Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee

Norbert Lins, MEP and Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. From 2004-2009, he was the head of the office of Andreas Schwab MEP, lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Kehl from 2006-2011. He worked in the department of Land Acquisition in Road Building at Tübingen Regional Council from 2009-2010. From 2010-2011, he was personal assistant to the Minister of Rural Affairs, Food and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. He worked in the division for broadband funding in the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg from 2011-2014. He has been Vice-Chairman of the CDU Württemberg-Hohenzollern since 2011 and Executive Board Member of the CDU Baden-Württemberg since 2013. MEP since 2014.

Joachim RukwiedPresident of the German Farmers’ Association

Joachim Rukwied, President of the German Farmers’ Association. In 1994, he took over 295 ha family farm, harvesting grain, sugar beets, oilseed rape and field vegetables, as well as 20 ha of viniculture. Before joining the German Farmers’ Association, Rukwied was President of the State Farmers’ Association of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) between 2006 and 2012. He served as Chairman of the Regional Farmers’ Association of Heilbronn from 1996 to 2007. Since 2013, he has served as Chairman of the board of supervisory directors of the Agricultural Rentenbank, Frankfurt. He has been a member of the supervisory board of Suedzucker AG, Mannheim since 2007.

Fiona SimsonPresident of the NFF

Fiona Simson, NSW mixed farmer and grazier, President of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) of Australia.
Ms Simson is based on the Liverpool Plains where she, her husband Ed and family run a mixed farming enterprise including broad acre farming as well as breeding commercial poll Hereford cattle. Fiona is the first female President of the NFF in its 37 year history. She has previously served the NFF as Vice President for 2 years and as a Director since 2011. Fiona was also the first female President of NSW Farmers, retaining that position for a full four year term from 2011 to 2015.

Mark DavieAustralian Beef Farmer

Mark Davie lives and works on a family cattle breeding property, Greenlake Station, north of Yeppoon, Queensland. They crossbreed Brahman cows and sell weaners for backgrounding into both northern live export and southern feedlot markets. Mark also runs Keppel Brand, a food manufacturing business in Yeppoon that sells value added meat products to the food service market nationally.
(Source: Beef Sustainability Steering Group)

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