Chapter 8
Sustaining Queensland’s Agricultural
Sector: Challenges and Opportunities from
the Bioeconomy and the Circular Economy
Georgina Davis
Abstract Queensland’s agricultural sector is under increasing pressure to provide
food to growing populations as well as ‘feeding’ new fibre, fuel and foliage markets.
However, the sector is currently facing major challenges, including climatic factors,
soil degradation and increasing social scrutiny, but despite these challenges,
Queensland’s agricultural sector is growing. It is also seeing diversification across
commodities, in particular a move to high-value products and also technological
innovation to meet demand for bioproducts and biofuels. Soil is a precious,
non-renewable resource. Soil health and soil management, along with the availability of water, largely determine the level of food production. Healthier soils mean
healthier food and more prosperous communities. However, soil can be lost forever
as a result of intense rainfall when left unprotected or unsupported by appropriate
land management practices. Queensland’s agricultural sector has an established
history of managing its waste streams effectively, ranging from innovative valueadded products on-farm to combat food waste to organics and nutrient recycling and
also bioenergy production. The return of valuable nutrients back to soil as part of a
holistic and effective resource management strategy is essential. However, with
increasing demand for bio-resources, will Queensland’s agricultural soils lose out
to higher-value bioeconomy applications? This chapter discusses the importance of
agricultural soils in Queensland and some specific challenges and outlines the risks
and opportunities from the state’s emerging bioeconomy industry and returning
nutrients to soil as part of a circular economy approach.
Keywords Queensland · Agriculture · Bioeconomy · Challenges · Opportunities
G. Davis (*)
Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
e-mail: g.davis@griffith.edu.au
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Omran, O. Schwarz-Herion (eds.), Sustaining our Environment for Better Future,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7158-5_8
117
Sustaining Queensland’s Agricultural
Sector: Challenges and Opportunities from
the Bioeconomy and the Circular Economy
Georgina Davis
Abstract Queensland’s agricultural sector is under increasing pressure to provide
food to growing populations as well as ‘feeding’ new fibre, fuel and foliage markets.
However, the sector is currently facing major challenges, including climatic factors,
soil degradation and increasing social scrutiny, but despite these challenges,
Queensland’s agricultural sector is growing. It is also seeing diversification across
commodities, in particular a move to high-value products and also technological
innovation to meet demand for bioproducts and biofuels. Soil is a precious,
non-renewable resource. Soil health and soil management, along with the availability of water, largely determine the level of food production. Healthier soils mean
healthier food and more prosperous communities. However, soil can be lost forever
as a result of intense rainfall when left unprotected or unsupported by appropriate
land management practices. Queensland’s agricultural sector has an established
history of managing its waste streams effectively, ranging from innovative valueadded products on-farm to combat food waste to organics and nutrient recycling and
also bioenergy production. The return of valuable nutrients back to soil as part of a
holistic and effective resource management strategy is essential. However, with
increasing demand for bio-resources, will Queensland’s agricultural soils lose out
to higher-value bioeconomy applications? This chapter discusses the importance of
agricultural soils in Queensland and some specific challenges and outlines the risks
and opportunities from the state’s emerging bioeconomy industry and returning
nutrients to soil as part of a circular economy approach.
Keywords Queensland · Agriculture · Bioeconomy · Challenges · Opportunities
G. Davis (*)
Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
e-mail: g.davis@griffith.edu.au
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Omran, O. Schwarz-Herion (eds.), Sustaining our Environment for Better Future,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7158-5_8
117