A parliamentary inquiry into food security has been told Australian producers need to become more resilient as natural disasters and climate change continue to cause havoc.
In the first public hearing for the inquiry the head of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) said producers are already adapting to climate change.
"I think the thing for the sector... is to become more resilient as natural disasters and climate change... start to kick off and become more frequent, is a big pressure the sector will have to face," said Dr Jared Greenville.
"Producers are adapting... producing more despite more adverse climate conditions."
"But those things are going to ramp up and better information for producers to make decisions about not only what to produce but where to produce it, are going to be important."
Committee chair and Labor MP Meryl Swanson said despite the challenges she's confident agricultural production can remain high.
"There is so much increase in production via innovation technology, improved farming standards, knowledge," she told AAP on Wednesday.
"I am very cognizant of the challenge that climate change poses and the other input costs, all of those complex things that they pose to increased production," she said.
Recent flooding that hit parts of Australia is expected to cost the country billions of dollars.
"No one can give us a precise figure about the impact, but it's undoubtedly in the billions," Agriculture Minister Murray Watt told AAP on Tuesday.
"It's partly about lost production, but it's obviously also partly about the billions that we're going to have to spend in repairs and disaster payments for people as well," he said.
The inquiry was told Australian agriculture had already shown what it can do in the face of unprecedented disruption caused by COVID 19, but there was a warning that production needed to remain high.
"In terms of risks we need production (of produce) to stay high so we are producing enough so that we can feed Australians but also export," Joanna Stanion from the Department of Agriculture warned the inquiry.
"Currently we're experiencing two record years of production," she said.
"Australia is broadly a food secure nation, we produce much more food than we can eat and we contribute to global food supply," she said on Wednesday.
Australia exports 70 per cent of agricultural produce and is on target to hit a record $70 billion worth of exports in 2022 -2023.
Forecasts pitch gross value production forecast at more than $80 billion for 2022-23.
"While we are food secure as a nation we recognise people in some regions and demographic groups experience reduced food security," Ms Stanion said.
She said that was driven by disadvantage and inadequate incomes as opposed to food supply.
Food prices have risen over the past 18 months in part because of natural disasters, including flooding, affecting the supply chain.
Ms Stanion said incomes need to keep up with inflation so that people can afford produce.
In November the national food supply chain alliance warned long-term supply chain issues, caused by ongoing natural disasters and labour shortages, will lead to prices increasing a further seven per cent in the next 12 months.
The alliance has called for a national map to show all parts of the food supply chain, as integral to a national food security plan.
The food security inquiry was initiated by the minister for agriculture in October.
The committee is examining ways to strengthen food security, and is focused on local food production as well as the impact of supply chain distribution on the cost and availability of food.
Submissions to the inquiry are due to close on December 9.
