Over the next decade, Australian grain growers will benefit from a $600 million increase in ‘blue sky’ strategic research and capacity building, announced at the end of July. The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has earmarked $60m per year to deliver once-in-a-lifetime transformational changes for the industry. It comes as GRDC has released the findings of an expert, independent review which showed the organisation was well placed to increase its research, development, and extension (RD&E) investment to deliver greater returns and unlock new breakthroughs for growers. GRDC is one of 15 research and development corporations in Australia and currently invests $245m per year into RD&E to drive productivity, profitability, and sustainability gains on-farm. Acknowledging the corporation’s strong financial position – due to grower-led innovation and resilience, supported by long-term RD&E investment – GRDC commissioned economic advisory firm ACIL Allen to explore the optimum or ‘right sized’ investment to continue to deliver cutting-edge outcomes to growers. This review, which commenced with industry support late last year, has identified an opportunity for GRDC to boost its yearly investment without compromising long-term financial stability or RD&E impact.
