This article was originally published on The Australian Business Review.

The heads of some of Australia’s biggest food companies have warned the country risks losing its competitive edge unless it acts to stave off growing geopolitical, market access and climate threats.

Get it right, they say, and the food and agriculture sector could become a driver of economic growth to rival the resources sector and reshape the nation as a global food superpower.

The issues are canvassed in a new report from the Australian Food and Agriculture Industry Taskforce, featuring 14 chief executives and board members from across agribusiness who call for a bipartisan strategy with considerable government and industry input and investment.

Taskforce members include Woolworths board member Holly Kramer, Domino’s chief executive Mark van Dyck, Bega chairman Barry Irvin, Kellanova ANZ managing director Anthony Holme, Rabobank ANZ regional head Mark Wiessing and former National Farmers Federation chief Tony Mahar.

Taskforce chairman Mr van Dyck said the report, Land of Plenty: Transforming Australia into a Food Superpower, showed the nation was at a tipping point.

“Agriculture and food production are Australia’s oldest industries and a source of national pride. Together they are responsible for almost 1.4 million jobs, add $187bn to the economy annually and feed 75 million people every year,” Mr van Dyck said.

“However, there are forces at play that challenge this position: the increasing frequency and severity of climate events, trade tensions, a shifting geopolitical environment, and the evolution of global markets at different speeds fuelled by regulation and government subsidies, creating an unequal playing field.

“It’s no wonder that 44 per cent of farmers believe we are losing our competitive edge.”

The report says climate change and catastrophic weather events pose a threat to Australia’s soil quality, and calls for funding and tax incentives to encourage food producers and manufacturers to accelerate the adoption of decarbonisation initiatives.

“When it comes to implementing climate-smart prac­tices, our farmers are world leaders, but they need more support to go further and really bolster the climate resilience of their farms,” Mr van Dyck said.

Ms Kramer said improving the ability of farmers to measure, report and verify their emissions was critical to keeping pace with other advanced economies.

“Australia’s climate and nature reporting landscape is fragmented, lacks co-ordination and is considered inefficient and uncompetitive on a global level,” Ms Kramer said.

The taskforce echoed growing calls from other participants in the food supply chain to ensure Australia had reliable access to key inputs such as fertilisers and machinery, which were mostly imported.

“Onshoring the supply chain will reduce the risk of geopolitical shocks disrupting food production while boosting the economy and creating Australian jobs, particularly in regional areas,” Mr van Dyck said.

The report says the fact Australia exports 70 per cent of the food it produces masks risks for the nation’s food security.

It also calls on Australian producers and industry to renew efforts to “sell Australia to the world as a producer of clean and green foods” to strengthen and diversify market access.