Baseline study - Agricultural capacity of the Indigenous Estate - Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia

Summary

The purpose of the situational analysis is to attain a better understanding of the relationship between First Nations primary production enterprises and the larger Australian primary industries, focusing primarily on agriculture.

The study identifies that:

While a significant amount of primary production occurs on the First Nations Estate, a significant majority of this is not undertaken by First Nations primary production enterprises

There is still a relatively small, but emerging and unique First Nations primary production industry that is diverse, increasingly financially sustainable, and delivering significant cultural, environmental and social benefits to local First Nations communities

There is opportunity to grow the First Nations primary production industry so that it makes a significant and unique contribution to the growth targets of Australian primary industries – beyond what the agricultural industry or the Australian Government have contemplated.

To achieve this mutually beneficial outcome for Australia’s First Nations people and their agricultural industry, a concerted effort needs to be made to better understand:

the nature and extent of agricultural production that takes place on the Indigenous Estate

the nature and extent of the First Nations primary production industry; opportunities to accelerate First Nations agricultural capability development

attraction of social impact and other Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) oriented investment to the emerging sector. This effort needs to be overseen and driven by a multi-stakeholder, mission-oriented industry development governance framework.

Key recommendations include:

Establish adequately reliable agricultural, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry economic data pertaining to the Indigenous Estate and Indigenous primary production enterprises.

Develop a portfolio of positive First Nations primary industries case studies to generate stakeholder (including investor) confidence in the First Nations primary industry sectors.

Engage with the global social impact investment sector to develop a framework for identifying potential flow across First Nations primary production in Australia.

Establish a First Nations primary industries taskforce to develop strategies and initiatives to:

identify opportunities, and activate primary production from underutilised areas of the Indigenous Estate
identify and advocate for changes to legislation as necessary to optimally facilitate increased production from the Indigenous Estate and ESG collaborations
identify opportunities and develop strategies to optimise market access, enter new markets and develop new products

Activating the Indigenous estate – Baseline study of agricultural capacity

This project examined the unrealised agricultural potential of the Indigenous estate across Australia. It aligned with national policy agendas and closely examined agricultural development in northern Australia. The research assessed opportunities to adjust policy settings to unlock the value and potential of the Indigenous estate and agricultural economy. Key enablers identified include: Providing better access to information. Building the capability of Traditional Owners. Addressing bias and information asymmetries with financial institutions and investors. Support agreement-making processes. These measures could enable increased investment and productivity across Indigenous lands and waters. Led by The Australian National University (ANU), the project conducted a Situational Analysis to benefit First Nations communities and agricultural stakeholders. It assessed the national economic impacts – including GDP, gross value of production, industry value-add, and employment – of increasing the productivity and profitability of Indigenous land and waters across primary production sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as emerging markets for carbon and biodiversity credits. The baseline study sets the foundation for further engagement with First Nations communities to unlock the agricultural production potential of the Indigenous estate. The Situational Analysis involved desktop research using existing data to: Map the bio-cultural assets of the Indigenous estate (e.g. land use, tenure, water). Establish a baseline of the nature, size, and value of primary production within the Indigenous agricultural economy. Identify infrastructure and resource gaps using a System of Environment-Economic Accounting to support cost-benefit analysis for investment. Apply GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation to generate scenario-based outputs weighted by priorities (e.g. water access, productivity, tenure, conservation). Develop a range of land use scenarios (low, medium, high conversion over 10 and 20 years), presented via an interactive dashboard. Prepare case studies of current regional agricultural investments on the Indigenous estate.