Forum spotlights Australian agriculture

Australian and New Zealand agriculture will be in the spotlight at a forum examining the world's ability to sustain food supplies through soaring demand, changing climate, land degradation, trade wars, health risks and regional upheaval.

The forum will be held at the International Association of Agricultural Economics at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Wednesday 16 August.

The conference will open with four major workshops on:

• The impact of biotechnology on the world's agriculture;
• Can China's fragile resources support its soaring food demand?
• Are new trade distortions replacing old ones?
• Meeting the world's looming water supply and quality challenges.

Topics and speakers at the forum include:

• Australian Agricultural Policy and Trade Reform - Dr Geoff Miller, GCM Strategic Services;
• Australian Agriculture: Outlook and International Context - Dr Brian Fisher, ABARE;Transparency;
• Australian Policy Processes and International Trade - Dr Andy Stoeckel, Centre for International Economics;
• Reducing Rural Red Tape - Gary Banks, Chairman, Productivity Commission;
• The changing face of agriculture - Peter Corish, chair, Agriculture & Food Policy Reference Group.

The publication Australian and New Zealand agriculture: past, present and future will be launched at the forum. It will include analytical pieces on the future of Australian and New Zealand agriculture, including trade issues, markets and products, as well as regional demographic outlook.

For more information, visit IAAE 2006