Cotton research investment in the pipeline with Narrabri Shire to benefit

The Australian Cotton Research Institute is set to receive a significant investment from the NSW government through the second round of its Food and Fibre Infrastructure Program funding, reinforcing its reputation as Australia’s cotton research hub.

The NSW government will invest close to $100 million in the state’s primary industries research and innovation portfolio to help bolster on-farm productivity and protect the $15 billion sector from devastating pests and diseases.

The funding will be shared across all NSW DPI projects and sites, including the Narrabri region base, situated on the banks of the Namoi River between Narrabri and Wee Waa in the centre of the state’s main cotton production areas.

NSW Department of Primary Industries owns and operates the ACRI, but facilities at the site are shared with the CSIRO’s Agriculture and Food department.

More than 100 permanent, temporary and casual employees work at the site including researchers, technicians, farm operational and administrative support employees.

The investment will support local jobs and research activities, and is another positive for the powering agricultural sector.

An official announcement with further details about how the Narrabri region will benefit from the second round of the Food and Fibre Infrastructure Program’s funding is expected later this year.

The Courier understands the investment, across all NSW DPI sites, will fund resources such as equipment, new glasshouses, exotic disease diagnostic instruments, networks of on-farm sensor and data technology and plant pathology facilities.

It’s hoped the financial boost will deliver a new generation of scientific breakthroughs like drought tolerant crop varieties, data-driven on-farm decision making, fast-tracked genetic improvements in beef and lambs and revolutionary biological control of pests. At the DPI Narrabri site, the Food and Fibre Infrastructure Program aims to support cotton and cropping research, biosecurity emergency management to protect primary industries and improve research and human safety.

“I’m very pleased,” said Bruce Etheridge, NSW DPI’s site manager at the ACRI about the funding.

“And there will be a focus, where possible, to use utilise local trades and services. The infrastructure will deliver ongoing benefits to local stakeholders, landholders and industry groups.

“But the main focus of the investment will be providing additional resources to support a wide variety of DPI’s research teams and programs.”

Research activities at the ACRI have played a key role in agricultural developments in wheat, canola, a variety of pulses and of course, cotton.

“This is a premier DPI site with a long history of very successful research outcomes that have been adopted across various industries,” said Mr Etheridge.