Joint media release: Building on success for the agricultural sector

Minsiter for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Murray Watt
Assistant Minister for Manufacturing, Senator the Hon Tim Ayres

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The Australian Government is proud to take part in AgQuip, the largest primary industry field day in the country, on its 50th anniversary.

Australia’s agricultural sector continues to prosper, despite global challenges and major flooding at home in the last year, with record production worth $90 billion in 2022-23, record exports of $75 billion and high farm incomes across a range of industries.

The Government is committed to building on that platform, focusing on the priorities of biosecurity, workforce, sustainability, and trade.

Running from 22 to 24 August, the event is expected to showcase more than 3,000 companies and welcome tens of thousands of visitors from across the nation and overseas.

It will also showcase state-of-the-art agricultural machinery, information and technology available for today’s agricultural producers.  

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and Assistant Minister Tim Ayres will attend the opening day to speak directly to primary producers and participate in a roundtable hosted by the NSW Farmers and National Federation of Farmers.

The Australian Government helps agritech businesses grow through tools, resources and support for businesses, which can be found on business.gov.au. 

Representatives from a range of government agencies will attend AgQuip at the Agritech Pavilion, Science K-L, 10-11 to provide information on a range of government initiatives to support the agricultural industry including:

• The National Reconstruction Fund (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&D expenditure. The program is open to companies in any sector and every year, more than 12,000 companies register for the program.

Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Murray Watt:

“The partnership between the ag sector and the Albanese Government is only getting stronger and stronger.

“Whether it is protecting the industry from biosecurity risks, improving trade relations to grow the export market or investing in better sustainability practices to prepare for the risks of the future, we are fighting for farmers across the country.

“We’re also backing the industry through the allocation an additional $2.3 billion in federal funding in the past year to support the sector as it continues to grow towards its $100 billion goal.”

“Cutting-edge technology will become increasingly important for our producers to remain competitive and productive, as well as improve sustainable practices.” 

“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.” 

“Events like AgQuip will enable industry to showcase Australia’s world-renowned expertise in innovation, sustainability and research.”

Quotes attributable to Assistant Federal Minister for Manufacturing, Senator Tim Ayres:

“At the heart of the Government’s plan to diversify and transform Australia’s industry and economy is the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.”

“The NRF is the largest investment in manufacturing in Australian peacetime history.” 

“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.”