Canberra may be the political heart of Australia, known for its population of public servants and influx of politicians, but less widely known is that the national capital is also home to a diverse and passionate farming community.

In an effort to build Canberra’s agricultural landscape, the ACT Government is preparing the Capital Food and Fibre Strategy, with an aim to launch farming in the ACT onto the national stage.

So, what is the future of farming in Canberra? Canberra Daily journalist, Abbey Halter, investigates.

ACT Minister for the Environment Rebecca Vassarotti is the politician leading the Capital Food and Fibre Strategy for the ACT Government.

Collaboration between the Rural Landholders Association (RLA) and Government is a high priority for Ms Vassarotti, and she sees the development of the Strategy as an “opportunity”.

Towards the end of 2022, Ms Vassarotti sat down with the Association to speak about the draft Strategy.

She said the discussion was “fantastic” and echoed RLA president Fred McGrath Weber’s sentiment about the solid working relationship the Association has developed with the ACT Government.

The strong engagement from the rural landholders was a positive sign, said Ms Vassarotti.

While their relationship remains friendly, she’s aware the RLA have issues they would like addressed through the Strategy.

Do you support connecting consumers with ACT farmers by making it more accessible to sell livestock products direct to the consumer?

“I think there are real opportunities in that area and that [it] can become a real challenge,” Ms Vassarotti said.

One of the key issues Ms Vassarotti has noted from her discussions with local farmers is the fact that Canberra lacks a locally based abattoir.

She says to solve this problem “we need to look quite creatively” and a solution could be a mobile abattoir, similar to what’s been done in areas in Victoria.

“I think when we look at the popularity of things such as farmers markets that people do really want to connect more with their local producers and so I think there absolutely are more opportunities to do that,” Ms Vassarotti said.

Do you support providing stewardship payments to farmers going ‘above and beyond’ with sustainable farming issues that are connected to climate change?

“I think we’re really open to all ideas and suggestions, and I think that issue of things such as product stewardship is a concept that we’re looking at across a whole range of industries,” Ms Vassarotti said.

In terms of the idea of a circular economy, she said the stewardship payments are a key concept and while they’re “really open to new ideas”, it needs to considered “how it might work in practice”.

Do you support providing land security for the majority of ACT farmers who are on short-term leases?

“Yes, look, I have great sympathy … there are certainly a number of lease holders that haven’t got certainty around their leases,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“We have to have conversations around different land uses, but I think there is absolutely work that needs to be done particularly around providing certainty, even if it’s in the medium term if it’s not really long term, and that’s certainly something that I’ve been really committed to working with leaseholders to support them to get more certainty around their lease.

“That is a conversation that we’re having with each other about how we could do that. In some instances, there is some complexity because there is the involvement of the Commonwealth Government, and I am really keen that we do move to resolve this issue.”

What is your opinion on cementing Canberra as the Bush Capital through unique agritourism trail experiences?

“It absolutely does excite me. I know that we have some fantastic producers, whether they are Mount Majura wines, we’ve got the truffle farm, we’ve got the work that Freddie’s doing at the Majura Valley Farms, we’ve got the fantastic businesses at Pialligo …,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“We have actually already got some incredible experiences. I think there are great opportunities there and that is an area that I am particularly excited about.”

Canberra receives 90 per cent of our fruit and vegetables from Sydney. How specifically will the Strategy reduce that percentage to ensure Canberra can have food security?

“I think the way that we can really build resilience is to be producing more of our foods locally and so I think that that is a really key element of the strategy. We won’t be able to produce everything within the Territory or even the region; there are some things that we won’t be able to do but there’s an awful lot that we can,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“That is the key thing that we need to do, both looking at our rural farmers but also in our urban landscapes, how we can actually support more food being grown locally, and more people involved with our food production process.”

According to the Minister, innovation is important; an example of how Canberra could build more resilience is through ideas such as vertical farming to boost local production.

What do you hope the future of farming and agriculture in the ACT will look like?

“I really hope that farming and agriculture in the ACT is actually seen as an integrated part of our city,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“I’d really like to see a whole lot of people involved in agriculture and farming in the ACT, whether it’s people growing tomatoes on their balconies, whether it’s a cultural community involved in their community garden …

“So, I really like this to be seen as something that is a really important part of our city; not just about producing the food we eat, but actually creating an opportunity for us to come together to learn from each other, to have access to affordable, accessible, healthy food, and for us to really value our food, know that it comes from producers that are good environmental stewards, it’s healthy, it’s not being overly subjected to pesticides, to chemicals, etc.

“So, it’s a really important part of the life of this city.”

• Read more: The future of farming in Canberra: Fred McGrath Weber
• Read more: The future of farming in Canberra: Tanbella Orchard
• Read more: The future of farming in Canberra: Nicole Lawder MLA

Canberra Daily would love to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.