Rural adjustements or structural transformation? Discovering the destinations of exiting farm families

Prolonged drought is inducing increasing numbers of farm households to leave the land. Yet little is known about the longer-term destinations of exiting farmers. Do they stay in regional areas and take up work in agriculture-related industries or do they find jobs in growing sectors of the economy? Is the adjustment process restricted to rural industries and communities or is it producing structural change across the economy? This project has been developed with the Victorian Government to fill this gap in knowledge. It will track the outcomes of the farm, adjustment process over five years to identify durable policy strategies that will alleviate rural hardships while at the same time promoting the state's structural adjustment objectives.