Wimmera Southern Mallee Development (WSMD) is taking action to tackle the national challenge of food security, calling for regional solutions that reduce reliance on imported fuel, fertiliser, and chemicals through renewable fuels and locally produced alternatives.
In a submission to Feeding Australia: A National Food Security Strategy, WSM Development describes food security as a national priority that must be delivered locally through practical, coordinated work across freight, inputs, workforce, and local processing.
“Food security is a national priority, but it’s experienced and managed locally,” WSMD CEO Chris Sounness said. “It’s not enough to just talk about it. We’re bringing the conversation here, putting boots on the ground, and working with regional leaders to test solutions and build resilience where it matters most.”
As part of this effort, WSMD has secured initial funding from the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) to establish a Regional Food Security Resilience Lab. The Lab will bring together agriculture, freight, emergency management, water, and community partners to stress-test risks and discuss responses before the next disruption.
“We thank FRRR for backing this early work. It gives our region a practical starting point we can build on as we seek larger partnerships over the coming months and years,” Mr Sounness said.
In May, Wimmera Southern Mallee Development brought the issue directly to the region by hosting Andrew Henderson, a national food security specialist and National Food Security Preparedness Green Paper co-author, for briefings with key stakeholders across local and state government and industry. The sessions helped align Wimmera Southern Mallee’s priorities with the national preparedness agenda and raised the profile of the issue with local leaders.
Briefing attendees cited energy and fuel, inputs, and freight logistics as key risks to Wimmera Southern Mallee’s $1.4 billion annual agricultural output, highlighting the region’s heavy reliance on imported inputs and vulnerability to international supply chain disruptions.
“Improving food security means keeping freight moving in floods and peak periods, reducing dependence on imported fuel and fertiliser, closing labour gaps, strengthening farm-level resilience, and ensuring regional communities have reliable access to food,” Mr Sounness said.
He stressed that national food security frameworks must combine national and regional perspectives, and that Australia’s food security will only improve through targeted investment in critical inputs, freight, workforce, and local processing.
“Regions like Wimmera Southern Mallee are where food security is made real. National frameworks set direction, but resilience is built, or lost, on the ground. Our region can lead the way in showing how national goals are delivered locally,” he said.
“The key is leadership. Coordination does not happen on its own, and regional platforms must be resourced and supported to connect partners and focus on practical delivery.”
READ MORE
• Wimmera Southern Mallee Developments full submission to the National Food Security Discussion Paper:
• National Food Security Preparedness Green Paper:
NOTES
• WSMD’s approach is consistent with the National Food Security Preparedness Green Paper and the Australian Government’s discussion paper framing of whole-of-system risks.
• Climate risk and supply-chain disruption are key drivers of food system resilience identified in recent national assessments.