Productivity growth has been an essential element of Australian agriculture’s sustained international competitiveness. The emerging challenges facing the agriculture sector, including climate change, competition from overseas suppliers and rising input costs, mean that continued productivity growth above the long-term growth rate (currently 1.4 per cent a year) is likely to be required to maintain farm profits and living standards in the long term.
This RIRDC report provides a non-technical guide to the concept, measurement and key drivers of agricultural productivity growth. A key objective of the report is to enable readers to understand and interpret productivity estimates and relevant statistics in an informed way.