Tasmania’s agrifood businesses are talking with Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture researchers about their goals and challenges in an effort to define the future needs and aspirations of the sector.
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TasAgFuture project asks ‘Where is Tasmania’s agrifood sector going and how do we get there?’ with the aim of shaping the future of agrifood research, development and extension and inform policy, project lead Dr Peat Leith said.
“Our team of four social researchers is over halfway through 100 in-depth interviews with a wide range of food producers and processors across Tasmania about their environmental, social and economic goals and factors that are hindering and helping them to survive or thrive in a competitive market,” Dr Peat Leith said.
“We have selected a diverse sample of food producers and processors to represent the different types and sizes of Tasmanian agrifood businesses, including voices that are often missing or not heard.
“We want to get a really good understanding of where agribusinesses across the whole sector are heading, and how they plan to get there, amidst the technological, climatic and geopolitical disruptions we’re experiencing.”
The research team has completed 60 detailed interviews in Tasmania’s Eastern, Midlands and Southern regions, and are now interviewing in the North then moving into the North-West.
“Some agricultural businesses are growing more types of crops, working across value chains, or partnering with tourism operators, smaller retailers, processors or other businesses to ensure they retain as much of the value of their crops as possible,” Dr Leith said.
“We’ve heard how people keep their agrifood businesses afloat by navigating change, developing new business models and marketing strategies, building good skill sets within their teams and many other strategies.
The state-wide food producer survey will be piloted at Agfest. For more information visit utas.edu.au/tia/tasagfuture.
