The Hodgman Liberal Government has a vision to sustainably grow the value of Tasmanian agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.
Today I launched the White Paper: Growing Tasmanian Agriculture – Research, Development and Extension for 2050 at the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural (TIA) Forthside Vegetable Research Facility open day.
This provides the road map for driving productivity, delivering greater returns for farmers, and outlines more industry relevant research and partnerships with the private sector, to grow the State’s agriculture tenfold by 2050.
Supporting and growing Tasmanian agriculture is a top priority for the Hodgman Government, with the sector offering huge potential for the state’s economy, particularly in regional areas.
To achieve our vision we need to help farmers to innovate, adopt new technologies and improve on-farm productivity to boost their profits and create jobs.
Developed in conjunction with industry leaders, farmers, agribusiness and researchers, the White Paper will ensure that we have the right priorities and the right delivery model for agricultural Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) well into the future.
The White Paper sets out future directions for the Government and the TIA working in partnership with industry, under four broad areas:
Key actions include new five-year investment strategies to prioritise our RD&E activities, a new agricultural innovation fund to address emerging opportunities or issues, increasing our RD&E capacity in biosecurity risk, a new pilot Agricultural Graduate/Internship Partnership Program, a new Extension Outreach Program and a Research Farm Portfolio Plan.
The 2017-18 State Budget included $20 million investment in the TIA over the next four years to continue its vital work in growing productivity.
The White Paper has been based on considerable industry feedback including from the Green Paper: Growing Tasmanian Agricultural - Research, Development and Extension for 2050, launched in May.
To view the White Paper visit: http://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/RDE
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