What was it all about?

This project ran from August 2010 through to February 2016, funding a full-time productivity development officer within the Australian Macadamia Society who delivered a range of industry extension and development activities.

The key objective of the project was to improve the on-farm productivity and sustainability of the Australian macadamia industry.

There were a number of priority issues that activities were centred around, including fertiliser investment, lace bug management, spray coverage, integrated orchard management and integrated orchard nutrition.

During the course of the project, the development officer…

• Held numerous field days, attended industry conferences as well as hosting over 90 MacGroup grower meetings, with grower attendance rising steadily
• Provided written material for communication channels including the Australian Macadamia Society News Bulletin and industry fact sheets, to promote knowledge and uptake of practices to boost grower productivity
• Contributed to the development of six MacSmart videos.

In addition to increased production over the life of the project, a survey showed that growers and stakeholders thought that the project delivered a strong return on investment to the industry, was able to reach and engage with the majority of the industry and assisted to increase both farm sustainability and productivity.