Prime Minister Tony Abbott released the paper during a visit to the state’s south west on Saturday, including tax incentives to farmers and an $11.4 million boost to the ACCC to “strengthen competition” in supply chains.

The government claims there are $4 billion worth of new commitments, but the opposition says it can only account for less than $1 billion.

Lisa Chesters, secretary of Labor’s Country Caucus, said the paper speaks of a “romantic, out of touch” vision of farming in Australia.

“It just deals with the here and now, not the long-term future of farming,” she said.

“The first issue farmers raise with me is access to the internet, and how if they had access to fast internet it would be a great boost to their farm business, but there’s no mention of a plan in the White Paper.

“If you want to move away from subsidising agriculture and becoming self-sufficient, then short-term measures aren’t going to cut it.”

The funding to the ACCC would help it to detect breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act that affects farmers and small businesses in rural areas.

Its functions are likely to target the big supermarkets and those at the top of the supply chain.

Farmers will also be able to tap into changes to the Farm Management Deposit, allowing them to double their FMDs to $800,000 from July 2016.

Tax breaks for on-farm infrastructure – announced in the 2015 budget – were also included in the White Paper.

The National Farmers Federation welcomed the measures, but Ms Chesters said the White Paper was a missed opportunity.

“We need to be looking at how we can partner with local farmers through vertical planning,” she said.

“Kagome tomatoes at Echuca is a great example of a partnership with local farmers to help them grow and produce food – these are the sorts of things we should be supporting.

“There are a lot of fluffy words in the White Paper, but it’s a serious lack of long-term vision.”

Ms Chesters said Labor’s Country Caucus was consulting with industry stakeholders, young farmers and food producers to form agricultural policies to take to next year’s federal election.

The federal government had promised to release the White Paper within 12 months of the last election.

Victorian leader of the Nationals Peter Walsh welcomed the release, stating the ideas in the paper would help the state “remain at the forefront of innovation and productivity”.

“I’m pleased to see that accessing premium export markets is one of the five priority areas of the White Paper, and that there is investment earmarked for breaking down technical barriers and improving biosecurity,” he said.

“The significant investment in research and development will also help Victorian farmers to maintain their competitiveness in the world market.”

Water infrastructure also featured heavily in the document, adding another $300 million to the National Water Infrastructure Fund and a further $50 million to look into sites for new dams.

The federal government would commit $450 million to the construction of new water infrastructure.