Land degradation problems of today were largely caused by the adoption of practises actively promoted by extension in the past and farmers are rightfully sceptical.

That’s the opinion Professor Frank Vanclay of the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research put to participants at the recent Tamworth no-till and conservation farming conference.

On the same bill, Professor Paul Martin of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law at the University of New England said system-wide reform involving new institutional approaches to ensure greater support for public good investment is needed to generate widespread adoption of no-tillage and other conservation farming.

That’s because behaviour and attitude have been shown to be heavily influenced by institutional settings, according to Professor Martin.

He said Australia needs to work on its taxation system and regulatory approaches to create real market incentives for ecosystem services.

'State of the Environment reports show that, like other land uses, many aspects of farming are not yet sustainable and significant on-farm changes are essential,' Professor Martin said.

'And while extension and education activities are necessary, they are insufficient to ensure optimal take-up of conservation farming innovations.

'Voluntary conservation practise is hampered by both practical and attitudinal barriers, and economic opportunity is the critical issue.

'We need to align resource flows with incentives and provide rewards for farmers to implement sustainable practises, as well as looking at ... attitudes and on-farm practises.'

Professor Martin said the statistics show non-adopters were often at the bottom end of the farmer economic scale.

Therefore, he saw real benefit in offering subsidies and incentives such as low interest loans or tax breaks to make sustainable farming more feasible.

Professor Vanclay concurred but argued adoption is a learning process for each individual which should be supported.

He emphasised the social basis of farming.

'We need to recognise that farming is a socio-cultural activity and profit is not the main driving force - there are other values and virtues of being a farmer,' Professor Vanclay said.

'Looking after the land - stewardship - has always been part of farming culture and farmers have legitimate reasons for non-adoption.

'Good farm management is what being a good farmer is all about, it is not just an agronomic concept.

'It is useful to consider styles of farming as a way of thinking about different world views about how to farm.'

He said adoption of conservation farming practises that are costly would be difficult, but 'doing the right thing' was a strong motivational factor.

Contact: Bob Martin, Tamworth, 02 6763 1243.