National Statement on Climate Change and Agriculture signed by all states

The ministers of every state and territory will meet in Perth today, where they are also expected to discuss traceability and drought.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the statement was a snapshot of where Australia's ag industry was at right now, and a clear-eyed assessment of future work that had to be done.

"Having the federal, state and territory governments all rowing in the same direction is another step forward, to protect and grow our ag sector, in the face of climate change," Senator Watt said.

"By providing an opportunity for national collaboration that drives change and underpins climate-smart practices, it allows the industry to ensure that the future of agriculture will be as prosperous as possible."

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Senator Watt described the statement as a shared commitment to provide leadership and work in partnership with the agriculture sector, so Australia leads the world in climate-smart agriculture practices.

"A climate-smart, sustainable agriculture sector will help make farming more productive and profitable, better protect our environment, increase access to international markets and strengthen our rural communities," Senator Watt said.

"There are emerging opportunities to act on climate change in the agricultural sector and this statement clearly demonstrates that we have the means and the will to get there.

"We want to see agricultural production continue to rise, and this will be enabled by using climate-smart agricultural practices that improve adaptation and resilience in the face of a changing climate."

Recent ABARES modelling shows over the last 20 years, climate change has reduced the average Australian farm's profitability by 23 percent.

More to come.