Program: Transformational Agricultural Systems

Program Goal

To achieve efficient and collaborative translation, provision, evaluation and use of knowledge across production, natural resource management and business management domains.

The Transformation Agricultural System program will deliver on this through four key activities.

 

 

Activity 1: Drought Investigation

The TNQ Hub is accessing and interpreting climate data from a number of sources (e.g Bureau of Meteorology, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) to help identify future drought impacts for land managers. Each of the TNQ Hub Drought Resilience Coordinators are working closely with producers and industry groups to integrate local knowledge and available climate data to enhance decision making. 

Activity 2: Sustainable Finance and Insurance

The TNQ Hub is enhancing and building knowledge of the benefits and risks for farmers looking to enter the environmental market space. A number of products will be developed in conjunction with the TNQ Hub Drought Resilience Coordinators to ensure the products meet the needs of each region. 

As part of this activity, the TNQ Hub in collaboration with key industry experts are investigating a potential opportunity to develop an insurance product aimed at enhancing drought resilience.

Activity 3: AgTech Drought Solution

This activity will demonstrate and adapt the successful water and energy efficiency measures currently being implemented by irrigators in the Burdekin sugar cane industry into other TNQ regions. The TNQ Hub Drought Resilience Coordinators will engage their networks to promote and share opportunities for interested landholders to be involved in demonstrations/farm walks.

Activity 4: Honours Project

The TNQ Hub is encouraging and supporting honours students through scholarships to conduct drought resilience projects that target agricultural production systems. The students will work with the TNQ Hub Drought Resilience Coordinators to ensure their topics address regional priorities and in turn be better prepared to enter the agricultural workforce. To view these Scholarship recipients, click here

Yvette-Everingham

Yvette Everingham

Program Lead

Yvette is a specialist in multi-model data fusion and is dedicated to (i) identifying strategies that will deliver better student learning outcomes in STEM education, and, (ii) helping agricultural industries implement profitable and eco-friendly ways to increase productivity in challenging climates. 

Yvette completed her PhD in 1998 where she developed new statistical methods to visualise and extract important information embedded in near-infrared (NIR) signatures of minerals, seagrass, sugarcane, wheat and pharmaceutical products. After completing her PhD, Yvette commenced a four year term with the CSIRO as a climate impact scientist.  Currently, she holds positions as Director of the JCU Centre for Agriculture, Technology and Adoption and is a Professor in Data Science in the College of Science and Engineering at JCU.

Ana Almeida

senior research officer, sustainable finance and environmental markets

Ana is an Environmental specialist with expertise in ESG analysis and has 20 years of experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating socioenvironmental projects and policies dedicated to promoting sustainability, sustainable land management and regenerative agroecosystems. 

Ana completed her PhD in 2020 where she developed baseline analysis, indicators, and multi-stakeholder frameworks to assess sustainable planning strategies based on economic, social, and environmental criteria. In 2022, Ana won the annual Pittu Laungani Award for his scientific article entitled “Integrating health promotion into sustainable development goal 11: major challenges and learned lessons from Healthy Municipalities, Cities and Communities (HMC) in Brazil.”