The federal government has invested in fourteen projects to enhance food and fibre traceability under its $7 million Traceability Grants Program.
The first round of projects, around $4 million of this amount, have already started to deliver outcomes.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the remaining $3 million for round two of the Traceability Grants Program continues to reward ideas that elevate Australia’s high standards of reliability and provenance.
“Traceability in agriculture, fisheries and forestry allows consumers to feel secure in the knowledge that the products they are buying have been farmed and harvested and processed to the highest possible standards,” Minister Littleproud said.
“This benefits not only Australian consumers, but also our trading partners who can be further assured of the safety, quality and sustainability of the goods we produce and deliver,” he said.
He further explained that consumers in Australia and internationally want greater transparency and real-time advice about the origin and safety of food in the modern digital marketplace.
The Traceability Grants Program supports industry projects that will enhance local agricultural supply chain traceability systems, including developing and trialing technologies that digitise information flow.
Related: $3M in traceability grants available for ag produce supply chains
Apart from supporting farmers and consumers, the program also aims to provide an advantage for our exporters and to increase opportunities to export Australian commodities.
“Whether it’s through developing block-chain technology to guarantee food safety, an app to track kangaroo meat harvesting, or a DNA database to combat illegal logging, these round two projects will give Aussie exporters the competitive edge,” Minister Littleproud said.
He continued that advanced systems support rapid tracing in the event of suspected food safety or biosecurity incidents. He also explained that QR codes and other mechanisms also help detect fraud and misleading statements about the products, such as information on country of origin and nutrition.
“Traceability will support our farmers and other primary producers in opening up market access opportunities and growing exports of their premium produce,” he emphasized.
The Traceability Grants Program is part of the goverment’s Modernising Agricultural Trade agenda to support the target of a $100 billion agricultural sector by 2030.
Source: Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management media release