15/05/2026
As Australia develops its first National Food Security Strategy, the debate is often framed around one question: can we produce enough food?
But what if food security is shaped just as much by how our markets and institutions are designed as by how much we grow?
In our latest Farm Policy Journal, agricultural, economic and policy expert, Alexandra Lobb, explores how processing concentration, export dependence, price signals and policy settings interact to shape food security outcomes, sometimes in unexpected ways.
In this article, Alexandra unpacks four case studies which reveal how rational decisions at the individual level can combine to create system wide vulnerabilities that productivity gains alone can’t solve.
With food security responsibilities spread across eleven federal portfolios, the Strategy presents a rare opportunity to step back and ask a bigger question: do systems built for efficiency and export competitiveness also ensure food is accessible, affordable and reliably available for all Australians?
This issue is available now via subscription or individual purchase - articles can also be accessed separately: https://www.farminstitute.org.au/product/vol-23-no-1-2026-designing-food-secure-systems/
