Spring 2021: Is agricultural advocacy future-fit?

Advocacy is a loaded term which means different things to different people, particularly in the heterogeneous world of agriculture. In the unadorned definition, advocates put forward a case on someone else’s behalf, or support, recommend or agitate for a particular policy, idea or cause. The means by which that support is delivered varies considerably within the agricultural sector, and most of these models are disparate with advocacy in the wider community.

Agriculture as an industry is vital to the future of the human race, yet industry participants often feel marginalised in policy discussions, constrained by burdensome regulation and misunderstood by the community. Advocacy is the mechanism through which the industry attempts to mitigate some of those external influences, and to influence community attitudes proactively and positively. Understandably, the way that advocacy is undertaken generates much debate amongst those who depend on advocacy outcomes for a stable operating environment.

The Spring 2021 edition of the Farm Policy Journal asks whether agricultural advocacy is fit to manage an increasing array of future challenges. In a landscape where community attitudes influence regulatory change at a faster pace than ever before, and in which disruptive change to business has become the new normal, how well are agricultural advocates positioned to respond and participate?