Funding committed for agricultural leadership

AUSTRALIA’S agricultural leaders will have the opportunity to develop their skills to strongly represent their industries, thanks to the Coalition government’s $5 million Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce said the fund would open for applications on April 5, delivering on a key election commitment that recognises the continued importance to the Australian economy of strong leadership in the agriculture sector.

“A stronger agriculture sector will boost Australia’s productivity, jobs and exports, and to drive it we need strong industry leaders to champion issues as well as identify opportunities for their sectors,” Mr Joyce said.

“Through the Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund, we are supporting our farming, forestry and fisheries leaders to gain the skills they need to effectively advocate agricultural commodity priorities with authenticity into urban communities, join international trade delegations, open new markets, and run national corporate organisations and agribusiness companies.

“The fund will ensure agricultural leaders and their organisations are equipped with the skills to fulfil regulatory responsibilities in consulting on use of farmers’ levy funds, supporting biosecurity responses and managing structural adjustment.

“The fund is a competitive grant process open to Australian national agricultural industry representative bodies. The grants can be used to fund activities such as professional development, training courses, webinars or strategic planning activities to give industry members the skills, knowledge and support they need to deliver on the challenging obligations national farm leaders face.

“This initiative forms an important part of our policy for a stronger agriculture sector, announced at last year’s Federal Election to support Australia’s farmers, who contribute around $58 billion to our nation’s economy.

“This once-off funding opportunity should enable peak agricultural representative organisations to develop the training and capacity to boost their elected representatives’ leadership skills long into the future.”

Applications open April 5 and close May 17.

For more information, visit www.agriculture.gov.au/ ag-farm-food/leadershipag-fund or phone

1800 870 733.