Key agricultural political figures will help AgQuip 2023 kick off its first day on August 22 with an informal forum with federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres.
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The forum will be held at the NSW Farmers Shed on Tuesday, at 10am at the Gunnedah site, located at site G-H/24-25.
NSW Farmers has the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) on its agenda, as well as the priorities of biosecurity, workforce, sustainability and trade.
Mr Ayres said the $15 billion NRF was "at the heart of the government's plan to diversify and transform Australia's industry and economy".
"The NRF is the largest investment in manufacturing in Australian peacetime history," Mr Ayres said.
"Australia's product exports are dominated by raw commodities rather than value-added products.
"Australian high value AgTech leads the world - it is deployed by farmers and agribusiness here in Australia to make farms more efficient, profitable and sustainable and it is exported to customers around the world.
"The National Reconstruction Fund will make sure more of this leading edge Australian research and product development is commercialised and manufactured here in Australia, which will mean more high value technical and manufacturing jobs and investment in country towns."
The NRF is one of a range of initiatives to also be discussed at the Agri-tech Pavilion by representatives from a number of government agencies.
They include:
- The NRF which will provide finance (including debt and equity) for projects that diversify and transform Australia's industry and economy. There are seven priority areas for which there will be targeted investments, including value-add in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
- The Industry Growth Program which was announced in the May Budget to support innovative small and medium enterprises by providing advice and grants for projects in the NRF priority areas.
- The Research and Development Tax Incentive Program which provides tax offsets on eligible R and D expenditure. The program is open to companies in any sector and every year, more than 12,000 companies register for the program.
Minister Watt said events like AgQuip "enable industry to showcase Australia's world-renowned expertise in innovation, sustainability and research."
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"Cutting-edge technology will become increasingly important for our producers to remain competitive and productive, as well as improve sustainable practices," he said.
"Technology will be key to helping solve the current and future challenges facing the agrifood sector, including the threat of pests and diseases, climate change and input costs."
NSW inspector-general of water compliance Troy Grant will also be in attendance.
Mr Grant said the organisation's attendance at this year's event came at a crucial point in water compliance and enforcement across the Murray-Darling Basin.
"When you visit our site at AgQuip, you will have a chance to tell us about what your main areas of concern are, as residents of the Murray-Darling Basin," Mr Grant said.
"We use this information in conjunction with our annual community sentiment survey to determine how people feel about compliance and water management in the Murray-Darling Basin, and the basin plan, and act on those results."
The aim of the IGWC team was to speak to hundreds of people at AgQuip to see if there were particular areas of water management and compliance to prioritise.
"Half the community, that's 50 per cent of the basin community, said they feel governments and organisations do not work together effectively to manage water in the basin," Mr Grant said.
"I take that very seriously, so I now lead a quarterly regulatory leaders forum, where basin leaders are brought together to share ideas and collaborate on water management in the basin."
The community can visit the IGWC at site C/27 at AgQuip.
This year AgQuip celebrates 50 years, with an exhaustive event program, and organisers have provided a shuttle bus to help visitors navigate the car parks and site.
This free service will stop at major road junctions as well as offering a 'hail and ride' service. This means if visitors see it, they can stop it and jump on. However, this service is limited to older visitors and those with a genuine need.
Children will only be able to ride if accompanied by an adult.
- For more information, free sunscreen, special requests and assistance, visit the AgQuip team the event's headquarters, at site YZ 21.
- Visit www.agquip.com.au to purchase tickets at a discounted price.
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