Good ideas just the beginning in drive for ongoing innovation across nation’s agriculture sectors

I came across an opinion piece recently in the Australian Financial Review which really got me thinking, particularly in relation to our agricultural sector. It was about the fact that while Australians have been responsible for some truly ground-breaking ideas that have had a massive global impact, many haven’t been translated into a commercial proposition in this country. “Too often, the economic value, the industries and the jobs end up somewhere else”, the article read.

For agriculture, it’s certainly true there’s no shortage of incredible ideas, innovations and tech breakthroughs that have the potential to super-charge productivity, efficiency and sustainability advances across the industry. Our agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors have also had in place for many years now a research and development platform to foster the improvements we’ll need as both an industry, and a nation, to keep us competitive into the future.

The industry’s 15 Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) help power agricultural innovation by facilitating strategic, collaborative and targeted R&D. This is made possible through government funding and producer levies. Last year, Seftons helped produce an inaugural annual report highlighting some of the critical projects already making an impact on the ground for the agriculture supply chain, and the collaborative impact of the RDCs on the nation’s future agricultural fortunes. The report also emphasised the RDCs’ commitment to the extension, adoption and commercialisation (EA&C) of R&D.

These three steps are critical - the research and development counts for little if it’s not getting to the stakeholders where it can make a meaningful difference. As a nation, and through our policy-makers, we should always be looking to ways to strengthen and advance our RDEA&C processes. Greater incentives for researchers, as well as investors, should be reviewed regularly – it may not even be a case of spending more, it could just be a case of reallocation to ensure maximum benefit.

Anecdotally, I have heard researchers in a variety of sectors over the years expressing the need for longer-term investment to entice more people into the research space, and to view it as a career. In order to encourage our young people to consider a career in the research space in the first instance, we have to show them it can be a rewarding career, both in terms of satisfaction, and remuneration. It seems currently, in some instances, a researcher’s role is only guaranteed for the life of the funding, forcing them to then seek other opportunities, often in other areas, which sees that knowledge and accrued expertise leave with them.

The commercialisation of our agricultural R&D offers many social and economic development benefits for our country, particularly in the regions. Through my work in remote, rural and regional Australia, I know the difference this could make. As Chair of the Independent Panel to assess social and economic conditions affecting Murray-Darling Basin communities I strongly believe instead of water buybacks, our governments could invest in the likes of agri-manufacturing projects in Basin communities – turning new products, services, or technology into profitable, available commodities and laying the foundations for long-term prosperity.

‘The clever country’ is a tag we have every right to be proud of, because when it comes to ideas and ground-breaking research, we punch well above our weight. Let’s be known now for scaling these innovations up in our own backyard and keeping the profits here at home. ‘The commercialisation country’ has a ring to it, too.