The Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Senator the Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO today announced that $96.5 million would be invested in three new agriculture-related Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) over the next 10 years.
CRCs announced today include the: CRC for High Performance Soils; CRC for Honey Bee Products; and, Food Agility CRC.
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has welcomed the funding decision, noting the strategic importance of the new CRCs – particularly the Food Agility CRC, in which the NFF is a partner.
“Commercialisation and adoption of new technology is critical to boosting farm productivity,” NFF CEO Tony Mahar said.
“The Food Agility CRC brings together a unique coalition from industry, government and academia to overcome challenges and drive digital transformation in the food and agriculture sector.
“The NFF looks forward to partnering with the Food Agility CRC to maximise its impact inside the farm gate”.
Also of significant importance is the CRC for High Performance Soils.
“The CRC for High Performance Soils will help simplify the application of soil science to real-world farming systems.
“When cutting edge soil science is applied on-farm, we see gains in both productivity and sustainability – so bridging the gap between research and commercial practice couldn’t be more important,” Mr Mahar said.
The CRCs announced today are expected to commence operations in mid-2017.
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