Improving the Foundation of Australian Agriculture

Australia’s agriculture industry is built on innovation, with farmers adopting new technologies to navigate the effects of climate change and researchers creating breakthroughs in everything from plant breeding to genetics

FREMONT, CA: Australian farmers are embracing new technologies to combat the consequences of climate change, while academics are making strides in fields like plant breeding and genetics. This country's agriculture sector is based on innovation. However, a lack of communication among scientists, farmers, startups, and investors has frequently prevented value from being realised.

According to Fern Ho, the creator of the agrifood start-up Leaf Protein Co., they are incredibly lucky in Australia from a natural resource viewpoint. Their reputation as a nation producing agricultural commodities is quite solid, and they export many high-quality goods.

But as a result, they believe it has been simple for us to rely on this strategy. Although farmers have all the sheep, the wool is processed abroad. A food example of this corollary is wheat protein. Farmers raise a lot of grains and other commodity foods that can be used to make completed goods or ingredients for foods with higher value. There is a genuine economic potential they are squandering by sending them abroad and back again.

The Leaf Protein Co, a company specialising in employing protein-rich regeneration plants, wants to advance to that stage. However, it has proven difficult to raise money locally, so Ho went to American investors to finance her company's initial term sheet.

AgriFutures Australia has introduced the online platform growAG to assist bridge the gap and linking regional entrepreneurs with investors and innovators. According to managing director John Harvey, Australia has the potential to become the Southern Hemisphere's epicentre for the Agri-food tech industry.

Harvey responds that's what they ought to be aiming towards. They have excellent farmers, brilliant scientists, cutting-edge technology, and a wide variety of producing conditions.

Connecting the local industry with international innovation networks is one of the main goals of AgriFutures Australia, a research and development organisation financed by both the government and businesses. After making initial investments in a few start-ups, the organisation soon realised it could have a greater influence by gathering important actors.

The outcomes were growAG and evokeAG, two online and offline communities. According to Harvey, if they're interested in innovation in Australia, GrowAG is a terrific place to start. Of the 80,000 users on the platform, a third are located abroad. 2700 research projects and more than 150 business possibilities are presented.

Ho used growAG to generate money for the Leaf Protein Co. after participating in the Victorian agrifood tech start-up accelerator Rocket Seeder in 2020. To introduce their start-up concept to the market and then move into commercial potential, she says, has been a good stepping stone. Ho met an agronomist who linked her to local growers and farmers on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, and growAG also connected her with funding sources.