THE future of the Wimmera’s agriculture industry will receive a massive boost.
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Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford launched the state government’s new $20 million Victorian Agriculture Skills Statement: Smarter, Safer Farms program on Tuesday at Longerenong College.
The announcement coincided with a funding boost for the college. A total of $2.5 million will be allocated to an AgTIDE Demonstration of Agricultural Technology Applications Farm project to be based at the college.
The project will establish a $3.6 million digitally-enabled, 1000-hectare demonstration farm to test and analyse new digital agricultural technology in the grains industry.
The project was developed in partnership with the Wimmera Development Association, Longerenong College, Skillinvest, Birchip Cropping Group and GWMWater.
It was also a key priority of the Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership.
Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said the funding announcements would help future-proof the state’s farming industry.
“This project will be a fantastic innovation for agriculture in Victoria. The community has worked so hard and passionately on this, and it’s going to be so exciting to see the results,” she said.
The Smarter, Safer Farms program will include $10 million in farm safety and wellbeing initiatives to change farm safety culture in an aim to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on farms.
It will also include a $10 million skills program, which will focus on training in financial literacy, risk management, farm planning and adaptation to climate change.
Two new leadership bodies will deliver the funds to the community – the Farm Safety Council and Farm Skills Victoria. The bodies will work in partnership with the Victorian Farmers Federation.
Ms Pulford said the Smart, Safer Farms program would help prevent injuries and deaths in the agriculture industry.
“Farms need to be safe place to work and live. By investing in a safe, capable and healthy agriculture sector, we will also build a more resilient rural Victoria,” she said.
“This investment will help farmers across the state and help bridge some of those gaps between knowledge and skills that are affecting productivity, profitability and most importantly safety. Investing in the development of skills and the future of the workforce is a critical part in investing in the future of agriculture.”
This funding announcement follows from the state government’s announcement in May of $578,000 worth of funding to help implement the AgTIDE program into the college’s existing courses.
Member for Lowan Emma Kealy announced last week that a Coalition government would allocate $525,000 towards the refurbishment of the college’s Agribusiness Centre if elected at next month’s election.
The state government’s funding boost for Victorian agriculture and Longerenong College will benefit future farmers, advocates say.
Skillinvest chief executive Darren Webster said the new investment would be “significantly impactful” on the college’s future.
“The importance of technology in agriculture has been a focus for a long time and advances in recent years have been exciting. Developments are moving at a rapid rate, however the uptake of technology by farmers has been moving slowly,” he said.
“This new announcement will allow farmers to see the benefits of agriculture technology and how they will be able to use it on their own farms.”
Victorian Farmers Federation president and Murra Warra farmer David Jochinke said the high statistics of deaths on farms were unacceptable.
“We are all small businesses and we drive a lot of the economy in regional areas; we can’t afford to be a part of such statistics,” he said.
“To develop the future of agriculture, we need to be training the cream of the crop; but we also need to make sure that everyone gets home safely.”
