Australia-Supermarket boss stands up for farmers.

AUSTRALIA-SUPERMARKET BOSS SUPPORTING HIS FARMER SUPPLIERS.

THE boss of Australia’s biggest supermarket chain has urged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to protect Australia’s food security by doing more to help and nurture struggling Australian farmers.

Woolworths chief executive officer Michael Luscombe said food security had to be placed at the top of the Rudd Government’s political agenda.

Speaking at the Woolworths dinner for agricultural excellence at the Sydney Royal Show on Tuesday night, Mr Luscombe added to rising fears that too many Australians are paying lip service to the role of farmers in maintaining the flow of high-quality food in the face of overwhelming adversity, including drought and indifferent governments.

Mr Luscombe steered clear of the politics but told the dinner that Australia’s national spirit was typified by its farmers, many of whom could have justifiably walked off their farms after battling through almost a decade of drought.

Not only had they stuck it out through testing times that would have crushed others, but they had continued to grow excellent produce.

Woolworths had taken its lead from farmers to ride out the present economic crisis, he said, by focusing on the basics and doing the best job possible despite all the financial gloom and doom.

Mr Luscombe said during a recent visit overseas he had encountered widespread pessimism - particularly in the US and London - and people were surprised to learn that Australia didn’t share their lack of confidence about the future and was determined to power through the downturn.

Nowhere was this determination stronger than in the farm sector, which had more reason than most to throw in the towel after a long battle with terrible drought, he said.

That’s why he wrote to Kevin Rudd late last year, urging him and his government to do everything possible to nurture the farm sector.

He said everybody from the Prime Minister down needed to ensure the security of our food supply chain, not only for all Australians but also as a source of high-quality produce for others in our region and around the world.

"Food security has to be high on the political agenda," he said.

Similar sentiments were made earlier this month by Kate Carnell, chief executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, while a new body has been formed in the Murray Valley called Water4Food which is poised to launch a major public campaign to highlight the vital role played by the region’s irrigators in feeding Australia and key export markets.