No images? Click here
12 December 2023
Western Australian agrifood export eNews
Western Australia will have 13 emerging agrifood-tech businesses that are set to shine at the Asia Pacific's regions premier agrifood-tech event, AgriFutures evokeAG. The WA Government is partnering with evokeAG. to host the two-day event, occurring from 20 to 21 February 2024, which is expected to attract 1,600 delegates from 20 countries.
The specially selected WA startups will exhibit as part of the event's 'Startup Alley', alongside an impressive lineup of national and international innovators. This initiative provides local businesses with a unique opportunity to showcase their revolutionary technology, as well as connect with potential investors and corporates from around the world.
Some of the startups featured will include:
- Geraldton-based Energy Farmers Australia, which upcycles organic waste to produce bioenergy.
- Perth-based company Uluu, which has created environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastic from farmed seaweed.
- Fremantle-based Nitronic, which produces nitrogen fertilisers from renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
- Perth-based EXTAG, which develops wearable devices for livestock, to collect and analyse biometric data such as heart rate, temperature, and stress.
For more information about these startups, evokeAG. and to buy tickets, visit evokeag.com. More...
Source: WA Minister for Agriculture and Food | Image: evokeAG.
Celebrating excellence in food and beverage innovation
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Food Industry Innovation program was pleased to partner with several business and industry organisations in 2023 to recognise business excellence in food and beverage product manufacturing.
The following DPIRD sponsored award category winners have demonstrated outstanding business excellence and innovation:
- Great Southern Business Awards – Winner: Stirling Range Beef
- Mid West CCI Business Excellence Awards – Winner: Illegal Tender Distilling Co
- Peel Business Excellence Awards – Winner: Melaleuka Farm Merchants
- Wine Show of Western Australia – JS Gladstones Best & Most Distinctive Regional Character Wine Winner: Capel Vale (Whispering Hill 2023 Riesling)
- Independent Brewers Association WA State Champion Trophy – Winner: Black Brewing Co
- WA Brewers Association Industry Recognition Award – Winner: Brian Fitzgerald (Artisan Brewing)
- Dairy Industry Association of Australia Annual Product Excellence Awards (Innovation Category) – Winner: Harvey Cheese.
Congratulations to these award winners on their well-deserved recognition. Many other WA food and beverage businesses also won, were nominated or were finalists in industry award programs held throughout the year and we applaud them for continually striving for excellence.
Their success not only contributes to the growth of their respective regions, but also inspires a more robust and diverse ecosystem. We look forward to witnessing more groundbreaking innovations from businesses across the regions in 2024.
Source: and Image: DPIRD
The Western Australian Government is providing more than $587,000 in funding across WA, through the Carbon for Farmers Vouchers to assist farmers to assess the feasibility of integrating carbon farming into their business enterprise. The program enables farmers to work with professional service providers and consultants to develop tailored Carbon Farming Plans.
Carbon farming refers to activities that help offset emissions by storing carbon in trees and soil. In WA carbon farming is an emerging industry, which aims to make a significant difference to Australia's climate crisis.
A total of 43 vouchers will be provided to farmers, including three properties operated by Aboriginal enterprises. Each farmer will receive a voucher of up to $15,000 (excluding GST) with a 20% co-contribution to develop property-specific Carbon Farming Plans for soil and vegetation projects. This will support quality applications to the next round of the Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program and registration of new projects across the South West Land Division.
Carbon farming can also have major economic benefits – through the generation of tradeable carbon credits – which can be sold to secondary markets looking to offset emissions. More...
Source: WA Minister for Agriculture and Food | Photo: DPIRD [Murray Grey, whose property is located in Yathroo in the Wheatbelt region, was a successful recipient under Round 2 Carbon Farming and Land Restoration funding.]
The Australian Parliament's Agriculture Committee has released a report on food security in Australia. The report focuses on production, supply chains, climate change, biosecurity, and food insecurity.
While Australia is one of the most food secure countries in the world, recent events highlight growing challenges and food security can't be taken for granted. Issues like COVID-19, floods, war, and disease outbreaks threaten food systems.
The report says systemic change is needed for long-term food security. More...
Source and Image: Parliament of Australia
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has completed initial testing of a ‘weather service’ for water quality in the Spencer Gulf in South Australia with plans to use the technology in local seafood farms.
CSIRO’s AquaWatch Australia Mission combines data from water sensors and satellites before applying computer models and artificial intelligence to provide near-real-time water quality monitoring and forecasts.
The Spencer Gulf test site is the first in Australia to demonstrate the AquaWatch technology works, a milestone achieved in partnership with SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre and the South Australian Research and Development Institute.
CSIRO senior scientist Dr Nagur Cherukuru said the team’s focus has now turned to collecting data to inform the area’s thriving aquaculture industry, which could warn them of harmful marine events such as algal blooms before they occur. More...
Source and Photo: CSIRO [Fish farm pens located in the Spencer Gulf next to CSIRO’s AquaWatch sensor test site.]
Just as we often hear that the jobs of the future are yet to be imagined, the same applies to the future of food.
Food scientists are researching innovative ways to ensure sustainable and cost-effective nutrition for the future due to the growing necessity for such solutions.
Before cultivated meat has even hit Australian shelves, other alternative protein innovations are being developed – fast and furiously. More...
Source: Food Frontier | Photo: Spencer Davis / Unsplash
Embracing a low-carbon future is not only imperative for environmental sustainability but also a catalyst for economic prosperity, according to the latest climate scenarios from the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
The release of the NGFS data, compiled by a coalition of 127 central banks and financial supervisors dedicated to managing climate risks and fostering green investment, coincides with the gathering of world leaders in Dubai for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, where they are endeavouring to reach a consensus on averting global overheating.
Adopting an orderly transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 could propel global gross domestic product 7% higher than under current trajectories. More...
Source: IMF | Graphic: NGFS / IMF
At COP28's 'Trading for Tomorrow' session on food security and climate change in Dubai last week, the World Trade Organisation's ongoing agricultural negotiations were highlighted for their potential to create fairer and more equitable food markets. This, in turn, could significantly contribute to reducing global hunger and malnutrition while supporting the fight against climate change.
WTO Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam emphasised the critical role of open and transparent trade flows in ensuring access to food, particularly for vulnerable populations. He further stressed the need to repurpose trade support towards climate-smart initiatives to decarbonise the food and agriculture sector and reduce its carbon footprint. Additionally, he highlighted the importance of removing distortions, opening markets, and promoting convergence of standards to encourage the development and dissemination of climate-smart agricultural technologies. More...
Source: WTO | Photo: Tim Mossholder / Unsplash
Further information
Agribusiness, commercial fishing and aquaculture news from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). If you have any questions or information to share, please email export@dpird.wa.gov.au.
Subscribe to Western Australian agrifood export eNews.
Important disclaimer
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.
Copyright © State of Western Australia (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), 2023.
