Grow Nt Mag -may 2021

+ Grow NT
2021
CEO Update.
Paul Burke
Diversification the key
to Food Futures.
10
www.ntfarmers.org.au
After fare welling 2020, I thought 2021
would be new start and less volatile, yet
we have seen borders close with little
warning and growing frustrations in seeking
and securing the required skilled and
mobile workforce that industry needs to
truly prosper. There does not appear to
be an easy solution to addressing these
critical areas for producers. Rest assured
NT Farmers will leave no stone
unturned to deliver the workforce that
is required for the 2021 season. I have
written extensively about workforce over
the last couple of years and decided to
try a new theme for this month’s article.
The Chief Minister responded to the
TERC review, stating that his government
would implement all the recommendations
of the review. NT Farmers
contributed significantly to this process
and were pleased to see many of our requests
made the final report.
To put the TERC report into some context,
the Territory needs to grow its current
economy by 53% or 4.3% per annum
to meet a $40 B Gross State Product
(GSP) economic target by 2030. Over the
last decade the Territory economy averaged
2.3% p.a. GSP.
The growth in the gross value of production
(GVP) for NT agriculture is at 9.7%
over the last decade (2009-19). This figure
is a measure of farm revenue and
is strongly influenced by upward movements
in commodity prices. According
to calculations derived from Australian
Bureau of Statistics data for the same
period, NT agriculture has an average
rate of 6.7% gross value-added (GVA)
over the same 10-year period. GVA is a
measure that provides a dollar value for
the amount of goods and services that
have been produced, minus the cost of
all inputs and raw materials that are directly
attributable to that production.
Whichever metric is used, these figures
indicate agriculture is well placed to sup-