Warwick Scherf General Manager, Industry Services, Horticulture Australia Limited Warwick Scherf is presently the General Manager Industry Services at Horticulture Australia Limited. Warwick joined HAL in late 2005 and previously held the position of National Industry Development Manager with Nursery & Garden Industry Australia. There he had a strong focus on strategic planning and managing industry accreditation, industry skills development and marketing programs, and also sat on the Federal Government s Weeds Advisory Committee. Warwick s commercial experience is derived from 12 years with the Australian food company, Goodman Fielder Ltd, spanning across roles in sales, marketing, operations and general management.
Horticulture R&D Investment 14 th Australian Almond Conference 2012 Warwick Scherf
A little about HAL Why is R&D important to horticulture Future R&D investment HAL s applied & transformational research Across industry R&D investment Example projects with significant to the almond industry Longer term investment planning
Horticulture Australia Ltd Industry owned rural research and development corporation Facilitates R&D and marketing services HAL has 40 members. Fruits Nuts Vegetables Fungi Nursery Turf Cut flowers Extractive crops Invests around $100m annually in industry levies, voluntary contributions and government funds on behalf of its Member industries and the Government.
Horticulture Australia Ltd 1300 active R&D projects In the areas of: Climate change and reducing environmental impact; Biosecurity and improved border security against exotic pests; Health and nutritional aspects of fresh horticultural produce; New and improved varieties; Integrated pest management techniques to reduce reliance on pesticides; Value chain improvements and increasing market access; Workforce development; and Improving the economics of horticulture production.
Why is R&D Important to Horticulture Diversity 39 industries, up to 70 commodity groups geographic, genetic, demographic, ethnic low individual critical mass market failure Complexity fragile, high value add supply chains few (but important) common research themes longer payback periods (tree crops) Potential domestic and export demand competition for scarce resources untapped genetic, production and value chain assets Value per se growth structural economics health and wellbeing food security efficient use of scarce resources
Future of R&D Investment Challenges are to: Improve productivity Total Factor Productivity : 1975 1997 = 2.3% 1997 2010 = - 0.1% (Source: Davidson, A., ABARES; 2012) Improve or maintain competitiveness in a global context Remain sustainable Resource management (water, soils, etc) Biosecurity Community license to operate Addressed by both applied and strategic transformational R&D programs
Future of R&D Investment Applied R&D is through: Industry specific programs based on an industry specific Strategic Investment Plans Across industry investment Transformational R&D investment through: All of horticulture funding = $2.5M per year Strategic plan under development by HAL board Many issues outlined in recent white paper currently under consideration
Strategic Transformational Investment Recent white paper identified six screening priority areas: 1. Mechanisation 2. Biosecurity 3. Abiotic stress tolerance 4. Logistics and supply chain 5. New product development/refinement 6. Information management and dissemination Next stage is to analyse for feasibility and impact Plan expected before end of the year
Across Industry Investment Statutory Funding Agreement 10% of HAL R&D Expenditure. Total R&D is approx. $80M 10% = approx $8M. Half from Multi-industry projects (5%) Equates to approx. $4m. Fundamentally an accounting exercise. Multi-industry projects may exceed 5% of R&D but 5% cap applies. Half from Across Industry contribution (5%) Equates to approx. $4m. Across Industry Program $1.5M Horticulture Transformational Investment Fund $2.5M.
All-of-horticulture current investment Health and well-being in horticulture Office of Horticulture Market Access Investing youth scholarships Plant protection : regulatory support and co-ordination (minor use chemicals) Driving collaboration in Australian Horticultural research Enhancing confidence in export integrity in domestic and export markets Supply chain retailer engagement Pesticide spray drift in horticulture a response to new guidelines from the APVMA MARRS
Mechanisation, Automation, Robotics and Remote Sensing (MARRS) $600K over three years Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) at the Sydney University Mechanical harvesting R&D on environmental perception, object segmentation and object classification and tracking Robotic sensing and perception systems Mechanical harvesting is primary solution May be applicable to tree architecture and canopy managment
Future Orchards Apple & Pear Long running technology transfer program 6 years Integrated program using objective & technical data through a variety of industry development activities Approaches growers in their own environment Improving the Australian apple industry to world s best practice standards... To compete globally, Australian orchards need to be able to produce high proportions of premium quality fruit at lower cost than today, be able to change varieties relatively quickly and reach commercial production levels early.
Future Orchards Apple & Pear Project Goals set in 2006 Year 2: Australian apple and pear growers are thinking about and planning new actions in relation to intensification, product quality, international competitiveness and profitability. Year 5: All new plantings are intensive. Older plantings are managed to provide maximum profitability. 10 years: The Australian apple and pear industry is world competitive.
Future Orchards Apple & Pear Deemed a highly successful extension program Key success factors Clear goals Strong team - multi skilled Multiple contact points / tools Objective and technical data Meet growers in their space Measure, monitor and change Pride and support Future Orchards Appropriately funded May be lessons for other horticulture sectors
Looking to the future - key areas of long-term investment planning Sustainable resource use Climate change & variability Water access, management & efficiency Soil health Other input efficiency (energy, fuel, fertilizers) Sustainable use of agri-chemicals IPM, fruit fly trapping technology, Improved surveillance practices, Biological control agents, Sterile insect techniques, and Post-harvest disinfestation treatment alternatives
Key areas of long-term planning Labour and capacity development Relative high labour costs & limited supply R&D approaches could include: Mechanisation Productivity improvements in supply chain and production Improve use of technology Encourage & train youth to work in agriculture/horticulture based disciplines New and emerging technologies Plant and variety production Farm management tools Data access and management Using technology to better integrate planning along the supply chain to maximize resource use. Biotechnology/gene technology
Key areas of long-term planning Servicing consumer demand Supply chain efficiency Product integrity & consumer confidence Product characteristics that meet consumer needs & wants Building brands for Australian horticultural products through innovative communications with consumers.
Get involved! Be engaged in the advisory mechanism Investment planning Remain informed on levy investment Industry publications Websites SIPs and AIPs Annual and project reporting Annual levy payer meetings Embrace outcomes of the levy investment Know what they are & their relevance to you Accessibility Technical & non technical publications Industry development networks Field days Be prepared to try / adopt new technologies
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