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Alignment to national RD&E priorities

GRDC is required to invest in a manner that is consistent with research priorities of the Australian Government.

This includes the Australian Government’s National Science and Research Priorities, the National Agricultural Innovation Priorities contained within the National Agricultural Innovation Policy Statement.

The national Science and Research Priorities were established by the Commonwealth Science Council in 2015, to support research excellence that builds on comparative advantages and maximises the benefits of RD&E to Australia.

The priorities relevant to the grains industry are:

  • Food – optimising production and processing, enhancing food safety and minimising waste
  • Soil and Water – making better decisions in the context of potentially conflicting demands between development, the environment and landscape management
  • Transport – developing low cost, reliable, resilient and efficient transport systems that meet the needs of businesses and enable sustainable mobility, while lowering carbon emissions and other pollution
  • Environmental change – building Australia’s capacity to respond to environmental change.

The National Agricultural Innovation Priorities were established in 2021 as an important component of the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda. The priorities address the key challenges to Australia’s Agricultural Innovation system needed to support industries ambitious targets to grow to a $100 billion industry at farm gate by 2030. The priorities are designed to make Australian agriculture a:

  • Trusted exporter of premium food and agricultural products.
  • Champion of climate resilience to increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of the agricultural sector.
  • World leader in preventing and responding to significant pests and diseases through future-proofing our biosecurity system.
  • Mature adopter, developer and exporter of digital agriculture.

Emerging government priorities for the growth of the Australian grains industry identified during consultation to develop this RD&E plan include:

  • Improving the sustainability performance and credentials of Australian agriculture to favourably position exports of agricultural produce into new, discerning markets.
  • Securing a long-term workforce for Australia’s agricultural value chains through promoting agriculture as a career of choice, addressing skill shortages and improving workplace safety, pay and working conditions.
  • Increasing the engagement of Australian agriculture with First Nations people through workforce participation and identifying opportunities to learn from first nations land management and agriculture.
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