A key focus of ABARES research is measuring Australian farm productivity and understanding the factors that influence its growth. Productivity is a core measure of economic performance that captures the efficiency of production and provides important insights for policy makers, researchers, and industry.
ABARES generates annual estimates of productivity for Australian broadacre farms using data collected under the Australian Agricultural and Grazing Industries Survey (AAGIS).
Expanding on these productivity statistics, ABARES now maintains estimates for agricultural research and development (R&D) investment, as well as farmland prices.
These statistics are important to productivity analysis because:
- R&D is a core driver or productivity, delivering new technology and knowledge into the Australian agricultural system.
- Farmland represents a main farm input, and understanding its price is important for securing lending, and investing in new technology and expansion.