Hort Innovation is forging partnerships with top local and international researchers, innovators, commercial enterprises and Australian growers through a new and exciting multi-million-dollar Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative – the Advanced Production Systems Fund.

The purpose of the Hort Frontiers Advanced Production Systems Fund is to increase farm productivity and profitability of the Australian horticulture industry by implementing R&D programs in all fruit, vegetable, amenity and nut crops to deliver “future smart farming” systems.

To remain globally competitive, Australian horticultural farms need to significantly increase farm productivity through crop intensification, protection and disruption. Future smart farms will offer state-of-the-art cropping systems, including ultra-high-density plantings and protected cropping, deployment of a plethora of sensor technologies to better manage the input resources and assist growers in the decision making for on farm operations such as fertilisation, irrigation, nutrition and harvest. Farm automation including autonomous tools will be key to improve efficiency and reduce labour requirements. Superior planting materials backed by next-gen innovative genetics and other technologies will lay the foundation of future smart farms.

Read about the current investment in the Hort Frontiers Advanced Production Systems Fund below.

Get involved 

For potential co-investors, partnering with Hort Innovation provides access to world-class research and the peace of mind of project management by a specialised team well-versed in managing large-scale research and development.

Hort Innovation is always looking for co-investors in the Advanced Production Systems Fund. If you would like to discuss a co-investment idea we encourage you to contact Tom McCue by phone on 0407 438 258 or by email.

Expert Advisory Panel

The function of the Hort Frontiers Advanced Production Systems Fund Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) is to provide expert advice and oversight of the fund, including providing input into proposed projects/research and recommendations on potential methods to address future gaps or deficiencies in the existing body of research. The panels provide impartial assessment and commercially relevant scrutiny of research proposals, fostering external confidence in Hort Innovation’s ability to rigorously assess, and provide evidence and merit-based recommendations to the Hort Innovation Board.

To provide a framework for advice and decision-making, the Advanced Productions Systems Fund is governed by a document of Co-Investment Strategic Intent (CSI), outlining key investment themes that must be met in order for concepts to be successful. Download the CSI here.