T h e H o n. D a v i d L i t t l e p r o u d M P
Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia
Deputy Leader of the Nationals
The Hon. Melissa Price MP
Minister for Defence Industry
Federal Member for Durack
The Australian Government is expanding the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub to catalyse agricultural innovation, drive commercialisation and create jobs.
Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said the Government has allocated additional funding for each Hub to develop regionally focused and responsive innovation and adoption strategies and to undertake activities.
“This investment is the next phase in the evolution of the Drought Hubs from being just drought focused to being focused on Innovation more broadly,” Minister Littleproud said.
South-West WA based hub led by the Grower Group Alliance is one of eight established across the country in April this year through the government’s $5 billion Future Drought Fund.
“These hubs are key to unlocking the potential of the agricultural innovation system, enabling people to collaborate and deliver regionally targeted productivity gains.
“The hubs will build connections between researchers, technology developers, investors, producers and agribusinesses to drive innovation and digital technology uptake across industry and the supply-chain.
“The hubs will always be a shopfront for farmers to access innovative technologies and practices that enable them to be more prepared and resilient to drought.
“Now, as part of the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda, we are expanding their remit into broader agricultural innovation activities and outcomes.”
Federal Member for Durack, Melissa Price, said the South-West WA Hub base at Merredin will become the flagship for agricultural innovation in this part of the state.
“The hub has nodes located in Albany, Bunbury, Esperance, Geraldton, Katanning, Manjimup, Carnarvon and Northam which provides an extra reach for farmers”.
“It provides a physical platform for stakeholders from across our great region to come together and translate research and knowledge to make real impacts on the ground.
“The hub already has an extensive list of members, and this is another great win for WA agriculture,” Ms Price said.
“We are providing the right conditions to help the agricultural sector to modernise, improve, innovate and grow,” Minister Littleproud said.
For more details visit https://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/drought/future-drought- fund/research-adoption-program/adoption-innovation-hubs/south-west-wa-hub
Ends.
Media Contact:
Rose Crane 0427 587395, Rosemea.Crane@aph.gov.au.
Fast Facts:
• Under the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda, the government is providing
additional funding to the eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs to expand their
current remit of drought resilience to broader agricultural innovation outcomes.
• $20 million in additional funding is available to support activities which will lead to
uptake of innovation by producers, stimulate collaboration and increase commercialisation.
• The key activities of the hubs will include:
o developing regionally focused and responsive innovation and adoption strategies
o providing a local “shopfront” to access to knowledge, advice and support
o collating knowledge relevant to the region so it is accessible and available for adoption, and
to understand knowledge gaps and priorities
o trialling of new technologies and practices that are high priority
o demonstration, extension and communication to support uptake and scaling up of successful
innovations
o working with researchers to improve their ability to co-design research, so it delivers to
end-user needs and context
o developing and supporting use of information and decision support tools that help farmers
understand and respond to risks and opportunities
o attracting commercial investors and supporting commercialisation
o building regionally based entrepreneurial skills and leadership
o linking in with the Research and Development Corporations, where it makes sense.
• The hubs were established through the forward-thinking Future Drought Fund – a long term, sustained investment of $100 million each year to build drought preparedness and resilience.
• An independent Advisory Committee chaired by Mr Brent Finlay provides oversight across the hubs, supporting them to become interconnected agricultural innovation precincts.