Established by Australia’s 15 Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs), AIA facilitates joint investment and collaboration in agricultural issues of national importance.

Sam Brown, AIA CEO, said that the company’s role is to identify, develop, and attract investment into strategies which address the hard to solve problems across agriculture.

“AIA enables the RDCs to collectively invest in these areas and take a whole‑of‑sector approach to innovation ‑ which, ultimately, delivers greater value to their levy payers and industries,” Mr Brown said.

AIA’s plan identifies eight priority areas across agriculture, fisheries and forestry that it aims to address, including climate, biosecurity, sustainability, traceability, natural resource management, energy, waste and circular economy, and digital and data.

“The Australian agricultural innovation system needs to engage in a more effective, coordinated way with the private sector to encourage and target investment at scale in these priority areas. Our plan outlines the role AIA will play in helping to streamline co-investment and encourage greater collaboration across the broader innovation ecosystem,” Mr Brown said.

The company has already identified three programs of work to address climate resilience and adaptation, which have attracted investment and collaboration commitments from the RDCs.

“A variable climate poses both significant challenges and opportunities for farmers, fishers and foresters (growers). We are currently working with the RDCs and other partners to develop solutions which will help them better understand the short-term risks as well as build long-term resilience through adaptation.

“At the core of our plan is delivering value to growers, value chain enterprises and investors, by exploring new and different approaches to agricultural innovation,” Mr Brown said.

Margo Andrae, CEO of Australian Pork Limited, said it is exciting to see AIA’s plan challenging traditional R&D models.

Download AIA Strategic Plan

Contact: Sarah Castellanos, Senior Manager - Marketing and Investor Relations scastellanos@aginnovationaustralia.com.au or ph: 0429 988 174