Canberra City Farm would be revitalised under the Greens’ plan. Photo: CCF.
The ACT Greens will establish a farm training centre and local food hub as part of a $12 million plan to increase the ACT’s capacity to grow its own produce.
Under their agriculture policy, the Greens are also promising to protect prime agricultural land so farmers have fair, long-term leases; provide interest-free loans to local farmers to invest in collaborative local food logistics and enterprise-building projects; revitalise the Canberra City Farm in Fyshwick; fund five full-time primary school garden coordinators to support school kitchen gardens; and establish six new community gardens in the suburbs.
The Greens said the training centre and food hub would initially cost $3.5 million and be modelled on long-term successful farm training and distribution hubs overseas.
Deputy Leader Rebecca Vassarotti said a food hub would ensure local farmers had the right equipment to pool, process and distribute the food they grew so that Canberrans could buy it straight from their local shops and markets rather than the supermarket giants.
“Growing the food that ends up on our dinner tables locally rather than importing it from across the country is good for farmers, good for the environment and good for giving Canberrans greater choice to buy and support local businesses,” she said.
This purpose-built space would support local growers in being able to sell directly to wholesale and retail businesses, as well as to community services such as aged care, individuals and families via food box systems and more.
The aim would be to co-locate the training centre and the food hub in Fyshwick, but an appropriate site would need to be identified.
CIT accreditation would be sought for the centre’s training courses, and there would be a specific stream for people struggling to secure work, such as former prisoners or homeless people.
Food grown at the training centre would be supplied to community food banks, charities and people on low income.
To support the training centre, the Greens would also revitalise key heritage farms such as Lanyon Homestead, Mugga Mugga Cottage and Horsepark Farm as satellite farm enterprise incubators.
The food hub would go hand in hand with up to $1 million in interest-free loans to support projects that help farmers get their food out to local shops so that they can more easily sell to Canberrans.
“For example, farmers might like to get together and purchase an electric van for food deliveries to local shops and restaurants, or as part of a box scheme direct to the front doors of Canberrans,” Ms Vassarotti said.
The Greens said they would open up more public land for farming and establish a prime agricultural land zoning.
They also promised a review of rural leasing arrangements, with a view to long-term rural leases for sustainable enterprises.
Tax incentives would also be available for producers to employ regenerative agricultural practices.
Brindabella MLA Laura Nuttall said the ACT Greens would give farmers confidence in the future of their businesses.
“For too long, farmers have been left in the lurch about how long they will be able to continue to run their business in the ACT. If we’re going to scale up the role of farmers in growing affordable food for Canberrans, we need to give them certainty,” Ms Nuttall said.
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