AgriFutures Australia Ginger Program Industry Update July-Sept 2018
Project updates from our AgriFutures Australia Ginger Program.
Read MoreAustralia’s ginger industry primarily supplies to the domestic market.
Through high-impact RD&E projects, the AgriFutures Australia Ginger Program will achieve significant benefits and support a sustainable, growing and prosperous industry supplying a high-quality product strongly sought after in Australia and around the world.
Key components of the program
Key components of the Ginger Program include development of a best practice pest and disease management manual, benchmarking, website development and a 50% increase in production volume from 32 million to 48 million.
About the industry
The ginger industry consists of 49 growers located in Australia’s sub-tropical and tropical production regions.
Ginger production is both labour and capital intensive, and the industry faces challenges around biosecurity, pest and disease management (particularly Fusarium and Pythium), securing inputs such as irrigation, labour and seed, and an ageing grower base.
Farm-gate gross volume of product (GVP) is presently estimated at $32 million with 20% of ginger grown in Australia sold to the processing sector and 80% sold to the domestic fresh market.
Australia accounts for less than 1% of world ginger production, with China and India dominating world output.
Funding
The program is funded by statutory levies paid by industry participants. Up to half of program expenditure, including R&D expenditure, is matched by the Australian Government at up to 0.5% of industry GVP.
Industry Advisory Panel
AgriFutures Australia is committed to working with industry to deliver research and development outcomes. We work in partnership with advisory panels to decide on research priorities and to make investment decisions each year.
AgriFutures Australia is seeking applications from suitably qualified individuals for a new position on the AgriFutures™ Ginger Program Advisory Panel.
RD&E plan
The Ginger Program has three critical objectives:
- Drive on-farm productivity – improve industry pest and disease management, harness innovative technology and facilitate adoption of clean certified seed
- Lift the demand for Australian ginger – invest in brand and market research to improve farm business returns
- Encourage industry engagement – communicate research outputs, assist industry with research adoption, build industry capacity and develop investment and implementation partnerships.
Contact
John Smith
Program Manager, Research and Innovation
0437 179 359
John.Smith@agrifutures.com.au
