Issue 1: Loss of farmland The Clarence Valley is a relatively unique coastal LGA in that 70%, or
Key aspects of this issue include:
more than 720,000 hectares of all land has a rural zone. For context,
o
Defining important agricultural land
o
Avoiding urban encroachment
o
Rural lifestylers not utilising land for agricultural purposes
Correspondingly, agriculture has become a core pillar to the Clarence
o
Farms / industries no longer being viable
Valley economy and the largest of its kind across the region. In
o
Changing climatic conditions
the extent of the rural landscape in the Clarence Valley is much larger than the entirety of many other LGAs on the east coast of NSW.
2019/2020, $216 million was exported in agriculture, forestry and fishing in the Clarence Valley alone – including close to a four-fold increase in agricultural exports between 2001/2000 and 2019/202020. The Clarence Valley Regional Economic Development Strategy 2018 – 2022 further highlights this economic importance, pointing out that arable land in the Clarence Valley realises substantial yields for its communities. Ensuring the strength of the agriculture industry is continued over the next 20 years is imperative, and key to this is addressing the loss of farmland. The loss of farmland typically occurs incrementally. This loss is difficult to quantify and the need to track this is a key recommendation of the recent Right to Farm Policy Review and DPI’s Agricultural Land Use Planning Strategy: Options Paper and a recommendation of the NSW Agricultural Commissioner’s Improving the Prospects for Agriculture and Regional Australia in the NSW Planning System
20
21
report.
Sourced from https://economy.id.com.au/clarence-valley/exports-by-industry?sEndYear=2001 accessed 17 November 2021
Clarence Valley Council Rural Lands Strategy – Background Paper
While some of these issues are more prevalent in the Clarence Valley than others, the following sections provided an overview of each.
1.1
Important agricultural land mapping
DPI has previously undertaken Far North Coast Farmland Mapping across the Northern Rivers in 2005, and this mapping was more recently confirmed in 2020 without change in the Clarence Valley area after being recognised as ‘best in State’ example of regional agricultural mapping22. This mapping has been integrated into the NCRP 2036 and part of the strategic planning process for many years, providing both State and local government with a recognised basis to identify and value important agricultural land and integrate it into land use planning. The value of the mapping is further identified within the 2021 NSW Agricultural Commissioner’s report, stating “The Far North Coast and Mid-North Coast Important Farmland Map is a good example of how a 21
Sourced from: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/1361611/Improving-theProspects-for-Agriculture-and-Regional-Australia-in-NSW_NSW-Ag-Commissioner.pdf 10 November 2021
22
Pers Comm – Selina Stillman 10 June 2021
Page | 34
