Survey hopes to help Queensland primary producers build back better from disasters

By Greg Chapman

A CQUniversity-led survey will aim to help primary producers bounce back from natural disasters and be ready for future ones.

Coordinated by CQU Agriculture Lecturer Saba Sinai as part of his PhD project, primary producers are being encouraged to complete the online survey to share strategies on how to 'build back better'. 

“We are asking people who work in primary production, including owners, managers, workers, contractors and others, about their experience of post-disaster recovery in agriculture,” he said.

“Build back better is the idea that the post-disaster recovery phase offers an opportunity to rebuild in a way that makes people, communities and/or businesses more resilient to future disasters, as opposed to returning to the way things were pre-disaster.”

Mr Sinai said the survey would capitalise on the knowledge and innovations of primary producers.

“My preliminary desktop research, but also in the conversations I’ve had with producers over the years, it is clear that many are really innovative in the way that they build back better already. 

“Unfortunately, a lot of these strategies are not readily shared across the sector so that one producer in one part of the world can implement strategies used by another, therefore boosting their resilience. 

“As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of disasters, the need to build back better and mitigate vulnerabilities – physical, social, and economic – only increases. 

“This survey will contribute to the body of knowledge that producers and policymakers can draw on to implement resilient post-disaster recovery in agriculture, protecting businesses, food security, communities and the economy. And hopefully we can disseminate these widely for the benefit of producers everywhere.”

He said the data from the survey would inform his PhD work looking into building back better in the post-flood Queensland context. Many regions across Queensland have been impacted by floods in recent years, often causing damage to farmland, with flow-on effects to communities and agricultural supply chains. 

The survey is funded under the Queensland Government’s Category C Queensland Flooding Flexible Funding Grants.