The closure of Land and Water Australia, the country’s key rural development agency, casts doubt over the future of agriculture research, writes Emily Ackew.

The impacts of the closure are expected to be significant in an industry already plagued with irrigation problems.

Next month will see the winding up of Australia’s premier agricultural research management body, which experts say will have a dire impact on agricultural and environmental research in Australia.

Land and Water Australia (LWA), is a Government research investment body that sustains research into the management and use of Australia’s natural resources. The Federal Government has axed Land and Water Australia to save $45.9 million in the next four years.

According to the Opposition, Rudd’s “money saving” budget cuts have affected the agriculture sector notably.

“This continues [to show] a lack of support for the Australian rural sector,” said Greg Hunt, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water.

The Department of Agriculture said the budget cut was made because the LWA was too expensive to sustain but declined to comment on the impacts of such a move.

However, a 2006 Agtrans investment study revealed that it put $4.80 back in direct economic benefits for every Government dollar invested.

Michael Robinson, LWA Executive Director, said Australia does not “have enough research and effort in to promoting knowledge and research into Australia’s land, water and agriculture”.

“This closure is a wrong direction to save money,” he said.

LWA aided the Government in balancing competing demands on natural resources and rural landscapes. The Cooperative Research Centre For Irrigation Futures’ (CRC) closure next year has also been announced by the Federal Government, leaving supporting organisations such as the National Farmers Federation in fear of losing research into water irrigation altogether.

“The future shows that after closing the CRC, there will be no research in to water irrigation in Australia…the consequences will be to agriculture,” said Deb Kerr, spokesperson for the Federation.

Rachel Siewart, Greens Senator agreed: “Raking the funding away from LWA removes the vital knowledge that LWA gave to agriculture and on land and water issues.”

Mr Robinson expressed his concern for Australian agriculture research, as it will no longer exist without LWA, he said.

“90% of LWA’s portfolio was completed, some programmes were transferred to other organisations, with less than 10% [of the projects] terminated,” said Mr Robinson.

LWA’s older projects were picked up by Tony Burke and Peter Garrett within the Caring for Our Country organisation.

“New managers of the projects’ work still remains to be seen,” said Stuart Blanch, Non-executive Director of Land and Water Australia.

“Caring For Our Country invests funding, where LWA provided the investigation and research. It’s a real disappointment to me and I hope in the future the Government will come up with something to replace LWA,” said Mr Blanch.

“This will particularly affect the cattlemen, farmers, aboriginal land managers and mainly Northern and Central Australia who relied on much of the funding and research, [and] others who have lost their jobs. So a lot of people have been affected by its closure,” said Mr Blanch.

Since May 2009, LWA have been winding up final projects for the official closure on December 31.

“Most staff have moved on and most have found other jobs in quasi-government organisations, there is only a small amount who haven’t got anything, myself included,” said Mr Robinson.

“We have not heard of anything in the pipeline about a replacement of LWA [and] it concerns us, as the Government are making research their last resort to climate change,” said Ms Kerr.