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Paying farmers to boost biodiversity
Elizabeth Gracie
The Australian National University (ANU) has been awarded a $3.4m grant to develop a monitoring, reporting and measuring framework for the Agriculture Biodiversity Stewardship Pilot Program.
The Agriculture Biodiversity Stewardship program pays farmers to boost biodiversity on their property as a means of benefitting their local community.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said that “this agreement with ANU is another critical part of our efforts to incentivise the adoption of improved on-farm biodiversity practices”.
“It is time farmers are rewarded for the benefits Australia receives from their work looking after the biodiversity on their land” he continued.
The ANU led pilot program will also allow for farmers and landholders to be offered working contracts with the Federal Government to recognise and maintain biodiversity. This will include projects relating to maintaining and enhancing forests, gullies, waterways, and mixed species native plantings.
It will also link up with work already being conducted by the National Farmers Federation (NFF) and Australian Farm Institute (AFI) to deliver an Australian Farm Biodiversity Certification Scheme.
The NFF has welcomed the ANU-led biodiversity pilot with open arms.
“Scientific rigor and technical accuracy must underpin all of the various methodologies that allow farmers to access these new capital and income sources,” said NFF CEO Tony Mahar.
“So we welcome the addition of ANU to the Stewardship package as a valuable technical and scientific advice provider”.
According to Minister Littleproud, “a biodiversity scheme will give farmers motivation and reward them for looking after nature on their products”.
“If shoppers are prepared to pay more for products that carry the biodiversity stamp, or if it will help increase our market access, then let’s create a brand and reward farmers who do that. We will test this through the pilot.”
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