The Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience, Innovation and Adoption Hub – led by James Cook University – has welcomed additional funding and the expansion of its role, announced by the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia, David Littleproud.
The TNQ Hub is one of a network of eight established in April of this year in a $66 million investment through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
“Minister Littleproud’s announcement, including additional funding of around $2.5 million for the TNQ Hub, will enable us to address agricultural innovation more broadly and to include fisheries and aquaculture in our remit,” said Dan Christie, Director of the TNQ Hub and Head of Engineering at JCU.
Announcing the changes, Minister David LIttleproud said the hubs would connect researchers, technology developers, investors, producers and agribusiness, to drive innovation and digital technology uptake across industry and along supply chains.
“The additional investment and broader focus on innovation reflects the shared challenges our agricultural, fisheries and aquaculture sectors face in Tropical North Queensland, and it recognises the importance of innovation in meeting those challenges together,” Mr Christie said.
“These changes significantly leverage the investment already made in the establishment of the Hubs. This is a welcome boost to research and innovation focussed on our region’s needs, creating greater resilience and growth in industries that are major employers in Tropical North Queensland.”
For further detail please visit the TNQ Hub.
Image: iStock
