Dr Anthony said the changes would lead to necessary groundwork being laid to facilitate investment by institutional players, who have a difficult record in local agriculture.

“Past failures, poorly executed or short sighted, (have)on closer examination, usually revealed mitigating factors, if not a silver lining,” Dr Anthony said .

“With scale and the right settings, the fundamentals of relatively stable returns, capital appreciation from rising land values and renewable income cash flows are very attractive.”

Dr Anthony said Australia was capable of positioning itself as the food bowl for Asia’s burgeoning middle class and that Australian superannuation funds could help take agriculture to the next level in global competitiveness.

“But to start, the funds will need reliable, independent data; agriculture-specific expertise; and revised national policy settings,” he said.

Dr Anthony’s paper observed that global investors were buying strategic stakes in local agricultural holdings with Canadian and US funds investing over $1 billion in Australia since 2007.

“Australia is receiving ready-access to foreign capital and expertise; but our agricultural industry is being ‘cherry picked’ with quality assets falling into the hands of external investors,” he said.

“That global investors with big reputations think they can make a go of farming in Australia, and are prepared to invest significant amounts for the long haul, is encouraging,” said Dr Anthony.

Australia’s pastoral and farming industries have attracted significant investment by Chinese capital over the past year with media buying mogul Harold Mitchell announcing the $70 million sale of his cattle interests in May.

The paper identifies opportunities for both rural communities and funds It’s recommendations include:

• Establishing an independent survey of farm performance to measure rates of return across various crop and livestock producers;
• Undertaking an infrastructure audit of each of the major commodity supply chains to ensure the adequacy and competitive operation of transport, processing and storage facilities across regions;
• Establishing ACCC regulatory arrangements to achieve effective price discovery and transparency in wholesale agricultural markets to neutralise big supermarket and international subsidy impacts;
• Through industry and trade policy encouraging domestic operators to form consortia with local and foreign processors and distribution networks to reduce agricultural sales risk;
• Requiring from the Commonwealth Treasury a more strategic approach to foreign investment rules;
• Establishing a regional development bank to provide advisory services to rural producers and arrange long term finance to more efficiently intensify operations.