Post-Conference In-depth Learning Sessions
Thursday 28 May 2015
Registration and morning coffee for both sessions is at 08:30 and sessions will conclude at 17:00. Lunch, morning and afternoon tea provided.
Choose between:
Session A:
Overcoming climate change challenges through implementing processes that drive strategic development in sustainability
This interactive session is designed for managers working within the agribusiness sector who want to deepen their knowledge of climate change adaptation and take away strategic lessons for fostering growth in Australian agribusiness.
This session will provide participants with an in-depth understanding of all aspects of environmental management, preparing them for the huge opportunity of the ‘food boom’ that is set to take hold over the next decade. It will strengthen your ability to optimize your commercial strategies and help create business opportunities while ensuring your activities remain environmentally sustainable. Participants will have open discussions and will work in small interactive groups, with a constant opportunity to ask questions and to compare specific experiences with other professionals in the field.
Key topics and take away skills/benefits:
- Evaluating the impact of climate change on Australia’s agribusiness sector and proposing commercial resolutions
- Building the processes to drive evidence-based sustainability decisions to promote agribusiness growth within your organisation
- Increasing organizational performance without damaging our ecology and natural systems
- Examining strategies for climate change adaptation and creating new business opportunities
Session leaders:
Peter Batt
Principal
Peter J Batt and Associates
Session B:
Transport and agriculture infrastructure outlook and scenario planning
Infrastructure is essential to transporting, storing, processing and exporting over 50 million tonnes of Australian agriculture output per year. In Australia, investment in infrastructure is a major driver of international competitiveness. Without it, long transport distances between sites of production, domestic consumption and/or export markets erode our competitive advantages in agriculture.
This interactive session is designed for stakeholders across agricultural supply chains who have an interest in lowering the costs of logistics and increasing market access through infrastructure investment, policy and optimisation.
With the Australian government making growth of food production a high priority across the country, with significant growth planned for the north, it is critical for industry and government to better understand and plan for the infrastructure options that can best support that growth.
This session will provide participants with insights and a better understanding of current infrastructure constraints faced by agriculture across Australia, along with a range of opportunities to reduce logistics costs and increase markets. Participants will hear first-hand about issues and opportunities from experts from different sectors in Australian agriculture, and will have an opportunity to share experiences and scope solutions.
Key topics and take away skills/benefits:
- Overview of the current infrastructure servicing agriculture production and supply to markets
- Outline of major bottlenecks in transport, ports and other agricultural infrastructure leading to high costs, limiting market access and restricting future growth. Case studies will be presented by various industry stakeholders.
- Identification of low cost, high bang for buck opportunities in infrastructure investment and policy change
- Roads versus rail – how can both be best utilised in agricultural transport with current and future infrastructure opportunities, as well as future growth.
- Identifying short to long term strategies to capitalise on the different priority opportunities discussed during the session
Session leader:
Andrew Higgins
Principal Research Scientist
CSIRO Land and Water