Deborah Corrigan, a fifth-generation farmer, has been surrounded by housing developments on all three sides of her farm, but she has made up her mind that her farm will never go that way, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"they wanted the land very much, they would come in, they would call and try their best to talk to us, but we all refused, because they were really not interested."
Corrigan's farm in Clyde, a suburb of southeastern Melbourne, has been replaced by residential developments.
A new report from the University of Melbourne warns that if this trend continues, food production in the city will be at risk.
Researcher Rachel Carey said Melbourne's suburbs are responsible for growing nearly half of Victoria's vegetables, which need to be protected.
"We have a fast-growing city, and by 2050, our food production will increase by at least 60%. We have a lot of pressure on food supply, from climate change to population growth. If we can preserve the production of fresh food in these areas of the urban suburbs, it will also provide a buffer zone for the risk of food supply. "
The report found that the state government had not done enough to protect Melbourne's agricultural land, lagging behind other cities. "the rules are not strong enough, and now we are not keeping the bottom line we should have kept in place," the report found. We have brought the expansion of the urban development boundary into the farmlands. "
And whether to stay and developers against or take the money to move, farmers are also divided.
Chris Schreur plans to move his farm in Clyde to Gippsland., 100km away. He said he was pleased to be able to move because farming in urban areas had become very difficult.
"it takes 20 minutes to half an hour to drive a tractor from one farm to another. It's a nightmare for us. But it's a little sad to leave the place where a family can start a job. But the reality is that we go forward. At home, this is the only way to remain competitive. And from abroad, we also need to meet the change. "
Not only Melbourne is facing the problem, Rachel Carey says, all state cities are under the same pressure.
"they all grow very fast, and the suburbs of these cities have farmland, which is very important to the production of food."
Canada's Vancouver and Toronto have developed 50-year plans to protect farmland in the suburbs.
"they gave farmers and planners a peace of mind and allowed them to invest with the government. And we have found that these cities are not just protecting agricultural land, they have implemented a series of measures to promote agriculture in the suburbs and ensure that farmers have the right to speak. "
But Schereurs says it's too late to protect farmland. "I think this policy should have been formulated 40 or 50 years ago. The government has the foresight to say, 'this is a piece of agricultural land, it's better to have a bigger area,'" he said.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation contacted the Director of Planning and Agriculture of Victoria, but declined to respond.