The whole supply chain puts food on our plates, supports local jobs and boosts our economy.

However, the industry isn’t without its challenges.

As this year’s avian influenza outbreak has shown, a robust biosecurity system is crucial to the success of agriculture.

In October, Federal Labor invested an additional $95 million to ensure Australia is further protected against the threat of avian influenza.

The Albanese Government is also working with agriculture leaders to increase sustainability and productivity.

Together, we’re developing a plan to reduce the industry’s emissions and position Australia as a world-leading producer of food and fibre.

That’s why in May, the Government announced a $63.8 million investment in the Agriculture and Land Sector Plan to support our low-emissions future.

Just last week, we released our new Drought Plan, which explains our approach to assisting businesses and communities.

This builds on the record $519.1 million investment into the Future Drought Fund announced in the budget.

The Albanese Government is equally committed to keeping the trade door open for agriculture.

Importantly, Australia exports 70 per cent of what it produces to 169 markets globally.

When the Albanese Government came to office, there was $20 billion worth of trade impediments with the Chinese government.

Federal Labor has stabilised this relationship and it’s pleasing to see China lift the remaining suspensions on two Australian meat processing facilities earlier this month.

We’ve also delivered a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE – our first with the Middle East – in a deal that removes tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australia’s exports.

Closer to home, we’re cracking down on the supermarkets to level the playing field with our farmers and producers.

Supermarkets will face multimillion-dollar penalties for serious breaches under the new mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.

Looking ahead, the gross value of agriculture production is forecast to rise to $88.4 billion in 2024-25 ($94.3 billion including fisheries and forestry) – the second highest result on record.

In a further positive, 285,600 people were employed in agriculture as of August – a 12.1 per cent increase from the previous 12 months.

The outlook for Australian agriculture is strong and Federal Labor will continue to back our food manufacturing industry by investing in programs that support local jobs.

We’ll continue advocating for agriculture on the world stage and we won’t compromise on achieving good outcomes for our farmers and producers.

Senator Raff Ciccone is a Federal Labor Senator for Victoria.