Policy for protection of agricultural land (2004)

This policy document is an update of the Policy for Protection of Agricultural Land, 1993

Purpose

This policy document guides officers of NSW Agriculture in their input to development and implementation of environmental planning instruments under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979. Strategies in the Policy for Sustainable Agriculture in New South Wales 1998 provide the context for this policy.

Protecting agricultural land includes maintaining the availability of land for agriculture, avoiding unnecessary limitations on the use of that land, and promoting agricultural enterprises that are consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) as elucidated in National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, 1992.

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act provides for the development and implementation of environmental planning instruments, viz State Environmental Planning Policies, Regional Environmental Plans, Local Environmental Plans and Development Control Plans. These instruments determine the areas of land that are available for commercial agriculture and the restrictions under which agriculture, and especially intensive agriculture, will operate.

Context

Agriculture is a diverse sector of the State’s economy that includes the production, processing and marketing of food, fibre and ornamental products. The sector has played a key role in the development of New South Wales and contributed to the character, culture and heritage value of our rural landscape.

Sustainable development is the basis for agricultural land policy.  Agricultural policies directed at conserving natural resources to maintain their long term productive potential for the community as a whole are a fundamental component of sustainable agriculture. Some agricultural industries rely on soil, in which case matching land use to land capability is essential to their sustainability. There are other agricultural industries that are not dependant on the soil resource, such as hydroponics, protected horticulture and intensive livestock production. For all agricultural enterprises, appropriate access to water, labour, markets, processing facilities and infrastructure is necessary.

The slow freeing up of world trade and internationalisation of agricultural markets is changing the opportunities for agricultural enterprises. It is desirable that environmental planning instruments and planning decisions maintain the capacity for farmers to respond to this changing market and policy environment.

The threats to sustainable agricultural production include degradation of the natural resources on which agriculture relies and alienation of agricultural land.  Agricultural land may be alienated directly through lands being used for non-agricultural purposes and indirectly by incompatible developments on adjacent land restricting routine agricultural practices. Non-agricultural development of land currently used for agriculture contributes to this and may force future agricultural production onto more marginal lands.

New South Wales, as Australia's most important agricultural producing State, has a direct economic and social interest in maintaining and improving agricultural production not only for the nation's present and future generations, but also for exports.  In many rural regions, agriculture or value adding industries based on agriculture, provide the only opportunity for economic development.

NSW Agriculture recognises that land with the best combination of soil, climate and topography for agricultural production (termed prime agricultural land) is a limited resource in New South Wales and its preservation should be encouraged.  In addition agricultural enterprises that are not based on the soil resource should also be protected, especially where the location or other features of the region give those enterprises a competitive advantage or where there has been significant investment in facilities or infrastructure to support those enterprises.

The planning system should provide certainty and security for agricultural enterprises and enable agricultural enterprises to maintain efficiency by responding to future market, policy, technology and environmental changes. Any restrictions on agricultural enterprises should be fully justified by scientific evidence to quantify potential impacts and alternatives.

NSW Agriculture Corporate Goals

The mission of NSW Agriculture is to Benefit the general community by leading agriculture in NSW to a profitable, environmentally sustainable future. Corporate goals under this mission include Innovative and internationally competitive agricultural industries and Sustainable management of natural resources for agriculture and community.

The planning and development control systems under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979 (EP&A Act) determine the areas of land that are available for commercial agriculture and the restrictions under which agriculture, and especially intensive agriculture, will operate. These decisions are relevant to the competitiveness of agricultural industries, now and in the future, and the sustainable management of natural resources for agriculture and the community.

The NSW Government released a Policy for Sustainable Agriculture in 1998. The goal of that policy is Agricultural industries that contribute positively to the State's productivity and economy, protect the State's biological and physical resource base, and support the State's rural people and communities.

One of the activities by NSW Agriculture in pursuit of these goals is to provide advice to assist in developing and implementing environmental planning instruments (EPI) under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979 (EP&A Act).

NSW Agriculture has no statutory role under the Act or its instruments, but acts as an advocate for sustainable agriculture and provides technical advice to assist the appropriate authorities make informed decisions in the best interests of their communities. It is the responsibility of the appropriate authorities to balance this advocacy for sustainable agriculture against the other needs and aspirations of their communities.

This policy document provides direction to NSW Agriculture staff in their role of assisting planning authorities and communities to develop and implement environmental planning instruments relevant to agriculture or rural communities. These instruments include State Environmental Planning Policies, Regional Environmental Plans, Local Environmental Plans and Development Control Plans developed under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979.

NSW Policy for Sustainable Agriculture

The Policy for Sustainable Agriculture identified the following requirements for agriculture to be sustainable:

  • respond to consumer needs for food and fibre products that are healthy and of high quality
  • take full account of the costs of production, including environmental costs, and ensure its pricing reflects these costs
  • protect and restore the natural resource base on which agriculture depends
  • prevent adverse on-site and off-site impacts on the environment and any other sector of the community
  • be flexible in order to accommodate regional differences and changing economic, environmental and social circumstances such as drought or terms of trade
  • be financially viable.

In relation to land use planning the Policy for Sustainable Agriculture includes the following strategies:

  • Ensure collaboration in the development, implementation and review of plans, policies and legislation relating to agriculture.
  • Ensure the equitable and efficient allocation of land and other natural resources between agriculture and other sectors of the community.
  • Ensure land use planning is undertaken, where appropriate, in association with agriculture to avoid conflict that may jeopardise agriculture’s sustainability.
  • Ensure enactment of environmental impact assessment procedures that result in the sustainable development of agriculture.
  • Develop and adopt agricultural activities and planning strategies that minimise impacts on community amenity from noise, dust and odour.
  • Identify lands and farming methods best suited to specific agricultural industries and retain production options for those lands in the future.

Principles for implementation of this Policy

  • NSW Agriculture is not a consent authority. Advice should be provided to appropriate authorities to assist them to make informed decisions in the best interests of their communities.
  • NSW Agriculture input should be to strategic decisions rather than operational decisions, except for development applications which because of novelty, complexity or significance justify independent technical input from NSW Agriculture.
  • NSW Agriculture should promote the consistent and transparent implementation of environmental planning instruments to avoid the intent of instruments being undermined by cumulative impacts from variations to standards and to ensure equity between regions.
  • Communities should not be disenfranchised by ad hoc decisions that are contrary to the intent of environmental planning instruments.  If environmental planning instruments no longer meet the needs and aspirations of communities, they should be revised through an open consultative process that is informed by an assessment of all the values that agriculture contributes.

NSW Agriculture should continue to develop best management practices to promote whole farm management and to implement the other strategies identified in the Policy for Sustainable Agriculture.

Policies to Protect Agricultural Land

1 Environmental planning instruments

Environmental planning instruments should be structured to:

  • promote the continued use of agricultural land, particularly prime crop and pasture land, for commercial agricultural purposes, where that form of land use is sustainable in the long term;
  • avoid land use conflicts;
  • protect natural resources used by agriculture;
  • protect other values associated with agricultural land that are of importance to local communities, such as heritage and visual amenity;
  • provide diversity of agriculture opportunities, including specialised agricultural developments, at appropriate locations to provide scope for development in rural areas; and
  • allow for value adding and integration of agricultural industries into regional economies.

Explanation: The development of appropriate planning instruments is the first step in supporting the capacity of agricultural industries to contribute positively to the State's productivity and economy, while protecting the State's biological and physical resource base, and supporting the State's rural people and communities.

2 Conversion of land

The conversion of land used by agricultural enterprises to other uses should only take place where fully justified against the criteria set out in relevant environmental planning instruments and after consideration of alternative sites and options. Any decisions to convert agricultural land to non agricultural uses should consider the optimal agricultural use of the land and alternative ways to structure the agricultural business.

Explanation: It is recognised that changing community needs and aspirations may sometimes require a change in the use of areas of land.   However, once land is converted to other uses, especially to residential or industrial uses, it is most unlikely to ever return to agricultural production.  Since these decisions cannot be practically reversed the long term costs and benefits, from a triple bottom line perspective, need to be evaluated before a decision is made.

The objective is not to prevent or discourage other land uses, but rather through planning to ensure that competing landuses are located so as to maximise total benefit to the community.  To achieve this goal, planning authorities should develop a strategy for development of agricultural industries at the same time as they develop strategies for other landuses.  This approach requires the determination of the economic, environmental and social contributions from agricultural land uses, preferably through a regional rural land study.

Where a change in land use appears to be desirable, any changes to environmental planning instruments should only be made after open and informed consultation with the community. Spot rezonings and other ad hoc approaches to planning are undesirable. Changes should be implemented in a way that minimises the impact on existing agricultural enterprises, such as by phasing in the change and providing short term buffers between agricultural and non-agricultural properties.

Evaluation of the economic returns from an area of land should be based on good agricultural practice, not on potentially sub-optimal practices that may currently be utilised.

3 Minimum size of holdings for dwelling entitlement

Criteria in environmental planning instruments to determine the minimum size of holdings necessary for a dwelling entitlement should be developed to suit local needs and conditions.

Explanation: Setting the minimum area necessary for a building entitlement is a commonly used tool to influence residential land uses in agricultural zones.  The objective is to reduce opportunities for conflict with commercial agricultural enterprises by minimising residential uses that are not directly associated with commercial farms.  Setting a large minimum is a disincentive to life style purchasers but the size also needs to allow for entry by young farmers and the criteria should also allow for more intensive forms of agriculture where appropriate.

While specifying a minimum area for a dwelling entitlement has been an effective strategy that is easily understood and is efficiently implemented, Councils should also consider other approaches to achieving the goal of minimising conflict in agricultural production zones so that farms can operate without unnecessary restrictions.

The minimum area for a dwelling entitlement and other provisions in Environmental Planning Instruments to regulate subdivisions should take account of:

  • the agricultural productivity and suitability of the land in question;
  • the nature and requirements of agricultural industries in the area being considered;
  • the risk of creating land use conflict;
  • the current distribution of property sizes; and
  • cumulative impacts.