VFF Launches Petition to Protect Victorian Farmland

The Victorian Farmers Federation is urging Victorians to sign a new petition calling for stronger protections for the state’s prime farmland.

The VFF says productive land is increasingly under pressure from competing uses, including housing estates, mining projects, transmission corridors and large-scale energy developments.

VFF President Brett Hosking said Victoria’s farmland is “an economic powerhouse that underpins more than 150,000 jobs and contributes in excess of $20 billion to the Victorian economy each year.”

He described the state as Australia’s “food bowl,” producing almost a quarter of the nation’s food from just three per cent of its arable land.

Mr Hosking warned that farmland loss is accelerating, noting that more than 100,000 hectares have been lost to housing in the past decade.

“Farmers and the soil they farm are irreplaceable and I’m urging everyone to back our farmers,” he said. “We must send this message loud and clear to governments right across the nation.”

The petition calls for a statewide strategy to protect high-value agricultural land from fragmentation, ensure genuine community consultation, provide fair compensation to affected landholders, and deliver shared benefits to regional areas impacted by development.

“We’re not asking for development to stop,” Mr Hosking said.

“We’re asking for it to be planned with intelligence, respect and an eye to the future.”

Victorians can support the campaign by signing the petition on the VFF website.