Sandpit to Seed funding aims to bridge the gap between research outcomes and real-world applications. The aim is that the supported projects, technologies and developments will lead to additional funding, partnerships and commercialisation outcomes such as licensing, start-ups, and ultimately new products, services and methods which have a genuine impact on the agricultural industry in the region and beyond.
In 2023 in partnership with James Cook University (JCU), we provided over $200,000 of funding to the following research projects including:
In 2024, $250,000 of funding was provided to the following research projects:
Associate Professor Lionel Hebbard says “The Sandpit to Seed fund has been critical for our team to further develop our business model. It has enabled the team to acquire important infrastructure and to conduct crucial experimental work to improve the Technology Level Readiness of our potential products. Through Sandpit to Seed support, we have been able to identify potential collaboration partners and customers. This will hold us in good stead to be successful in commercial funding from traditional grant funding and/or start-up investment funding”.
EcoSprAI
EcoSprAI, is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that uses AI-driven image analysis and GIS mapping to revolutionise spraying practices. By integrating aerial and satellite images, EcoSprAI detects and maps weeds like Prickly Acacia, providing tailored recommendations for chemical application. This precision ensures that only target areas are treated, reducing chemical use, labour costs, and operational inefficiencies, while supporting scalable solutions for large-scale farming operations.
BeefVantage
BeefVantage is an artificial intelligence chatbot that leverages cutting-edge AI and natural language processing to provide beef producers with tailored, actionable advice through humanlike responses to questions and prompts. Using only trusted sources, BeefVantage has the potential to revolutionise how producers access and engage with knowledge, encouraging greater curiosity, problem-solving, and exploration of innovative solutions —ultimately enabling more productive, resilient, and sustainable operations.
Automatic Fish Phenotyping Tool for Sustainable Aquaculture and Smart Fisheries
Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector, valued at US$263 B globally, and its demands increase by an average of 6% annually. Despite this scale, current fish and aquaculture products are primarily treated as a bulk commodity, losing invaluable information on the commodity, which can help significantly improve decision-making and planning for faster growth by understanding aquaculture products’ phenotypic traits individually or across species.
This project aims to advance an initial implementation of a new automatic fish phenotyping tool that will enhance aquaculture farming and post-harvest processing practices by accelerating data collection and automatically analysing and leveraging it using the latest advances in computer vision and machine learning technologies. A Proof of Concept is ready to get tailored, integrated, and/or retrofitted into an available fish and aquaculture farm for grading, phenotypic collection, and/or processing lines due to its modular stand-alone nature.
The tool concept has been proven with Barramundi as a test species. However, it can be used to collect images of and trained to predict features of other fish and/or aquaculture species. AutoFish can also be trained to detect and predict any customer-tailored features and traits of the fish/product and/or be used to assess the health of the fish/product if the health issues are visually recognisable by an RGB camera and the background phenotypic data present for training. Hence this technology would be scalable and can be implemented for other aquaculture products worldwide.
Accelerating Clean Meat Fish Production
The global meat market could be worth as much as $2.7 Trillion by 2040, according to CB Insights’ Industry Analyst Consensus, and there are clear limits to sustainably producing enough meat. Moreover, the planet’s populous will increase from 8 to 9.2 billion by 2040, and the current growth in global agricultural productivity is inadequate to meet the nutritional requirements of the current and expected world population.
This project aims to build a new technology to mass-produce sustainable Clean Meat and Seafood at a low cost. This approach will enable the industry to: (i) feed the world’s population, (ii) prevent further exploitation of the world’s oceans and overfishing of endangered wild-caught species, (iii) avoid the high environmental costs associated with aquaculture, and (iv) provide a sustainable and safe alternative for those species that cannot be successfully reared and grown in an aquaculture setting.
BeefVantage Report
EcoSprAI Report
Are you a James Cook University researcher working on an exciting idea or research outcome related to the agriculture and food industry, climate change, technology adaptation, land and soil management, or community well-being and resilience?
With support from James Cook University, we are providing up to $50,000 through Sandpit to Seed Funding for Proof of Concept, Prototype or Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development, that meet the TNQ Drought Hub priorities (read the complete list here):
Sandpit to Seed funding enables the intellectual properties and technologies that will have a genuine impact on building resilience within Tropical North Queensland and beyond with the intent of progressing commercially viable research ideas.
Register your idea for funding via an Expression of Interest (EOI) to Dr Mohammad Farjoo by email.
The EOI will be reviewed, and then the approved EOI will be invited to submit Full Applications.
It is highly recommended to contact Dr Farjoo before submitting your EOI for advice and assistance regarding eligibility, budgeting and support in the preparation of your application.
Download:
Submit your Expression of Interest by COB, Monday 17 July 2023