Better together: regional collaboration to develop agricultural innovation
Regional and remote communities are shaping the way research and development is designed, built, integrated and serviced to create real-world impacts in around the world, with collaboration at the heart of these efforts.
At the University of Melbourne’s October Water Security Series webinar, Regional research and innovation in water and agriculture, panelists heard from a number of experts on the leading role regional and rural areas have taken in leveraging the value of collaboration to create ‘fit for purpose’ outcomes.
Smart institutions recognise the value of strong relationships
Forward-focused institutions realise the impact of their research is shaped by the relationships they have with communities, according to panelist Davi La Ferla, CEO of Sensand Technologies.
We need those communities to … participate in shaping the way we’re thinking about tech, designing the tech, building the tech, integrating the tech and servicing it for the long term
The future, for us, isn’t about regional, remote and rural communities being simply passive consumers of tech. I think we will miss a massive opportunity if we take that approach from the get-go.
We need those communities to participate not just in the consumption or adoption of that tech but in shaping the way we’re thinking about tech, designing the tech, building the tech, integrating the tech and servicing it for the long term.
If we take that path, we will see the creation of enterprises within the regions. The regions aren’t simply consuming, they are creating, and not just for themselves but for other communities; not just in their regions, but around the state, the country and in export markets.
An accounting project run jointly by Sensand Technologies and La Trobe University, and working with 50 properties across New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, provided attendees with an example of the way innovation and collaboration in regions is being applied to help reward primary producers for environmental stewardship.
According to La Ferla, that really brings those properties, and others across agriculture and natural resource management, to think about the nexus between water, carbon and energy, so there’s a more holistic view about what’s possible.
Regional communities grown from innovation
Historically, many of Australia’s regional communities were built on a capacity for innovation, often because of their isolation. As Anne Mansell, the CEO of Dried Fruits Australia notes, being based in Mildura in Victoria’s Mallee region has given this community a cultural heritage of innovation.
The dried fruits industry came about because of innovation.
The dried fruits industry came about because of innovation,
Mansell explains having been developed in response to the difficulties of selling fresh fruit when markets were far away and transport was not available.
She has been working with Dr Robert Ross, Senior Lecturer in Engineering at La Trobe University and the Mallee Regional Innovation Centre (MRIC) to help the industry continue to innovate.
MRIC is a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, SuniTAFE and communities in the Victorian Mallee region. Based in Mildura, MRIC drives practical research, development, and its adoption, to address the key regional challenges including horticulture, water, energy and the environment.
Now we’re starting to see the experimental side of that process, with Robert’s assistance, moving forward. We’ve also got some growers trialing a few things and we’re bringing those things together
Dr Ross is engaged in an industry-funded research project with Dried Fruits Australia to develop a tractor-mounted, mechanised pruning system. The project aims to increase pruning efficiency, allow growers to increase the scale of their operations and reduce labour costs.
Before this project, my main experience in dried fruit was eating it,
. But through MRIC, Dr Ross has been able to meet growers to test ideas and hardware in the field.
Sometimes there are contextual things you’re not aware of, and it’s not until you’re out on the farm that you realise, ‘hang on a sec, that’s not going to work’ or ‘here’s a solution that solves an extra problem we weren’t aware of before’.
Mansell highlights the importance of time and collaboration in developing projects.
Now we’re starting to see the experimental side of that process, with Robert’s assistance, moving forward. We’ve also got some growers trialing a few things and we’re bringing those things together.
Innovation is important, but not always easy
Professor Ruth Nettle, who leads the University’s Rural Innovation Research Group, says there’s often a slip back to ‘consultation’ rather than ‘collaboration’ when people have parallel purposes. She notes that this has been the case with water policy in the Murray Darling Basin and agricultural technologies that reduce employment.
We’re still not drawing on local knowledge enough, we’re still not developing processes that involve people enough in a shared solution.
Professor Nettle also highlights that while Australia does well in research and development in agriculture and water, there is a tendency to see innovation as just the ‘science’ or the research and development policy.
Their innovation policy focuses on how that knowledge can be turned into value and this is where the strong business and community focus seems to be more of a priority
When you look at a lot of countries overseas, particularly in Scandinavia, R&D and science is seen as a capacity for innovation, it’s the fuel or the enzyme
Their innovation policy focuses on how that knowledge can be turned into value and this is where the strong business and community focus seems to be more of a priority.
With continued technology innovation and closer collaboration the future of agriculture in regional Australia is bright.