THE Legislative Council select committee on Growing Tasmania's Economy met in Launceston on Monday and Rural Business Tasmania was there to make a submission.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The organisation's chief executive officer Elizabeth Skirving said that the hearing was a great opportunity for Rural Business Tasmania to present its vision for economic growth for Tasmania's agricultural, rural and regional communities.
"We're very keen to get productivity within existing farm families, raised and get them really thriving," she said.
"That will really help the state government's Cultivating Prosperity plan for agribusiness.
"We also looked at what the pathways to agriculture were, concentrating on business management and the financial aspects of skilling up our young rural people to make sure they are business managers for the farming community."
Ms Skirving said Bureau of Statistics figures showed that 77 per cent of Tasmanian farms accounted for just 21 per cent of the value of agricultural operations.
"If, through financial and business management programs, we can improve the performance of these under-performers, we can grow the economy substantially,"'she said.
"The bureau's referenced ABARES figures estimate the gross value of agricultural production in Tasmania to be $1.2 billion.
"But 64 per cent of farms — 2519 enterprises — contribute just $96 million, or less than 8 per cent of that total.
"These are the enterprises that are the future for Tasmania and we're about getting these farms that have a future to get on the pathway to financial viability.
"We're not about propping up failing businesses."
Ms Skirving said that Rural Busines Tasmania presented two programs that, if implemented, could help underperforming farms to achieve better individual and collective outcomes.
"With our Asian neighbours predicted to account for 66 per cent of the world's middle class by 2030, the opportunity for Tasmaina's primary producers is immense," she said.
Ms Skirving said that the organisation also addressed the need for affordable finance for primary producers and talent development and retention.