A new report reveals the nation’s horticulture industry could generate an additional $1 billion in extra value each year by adopting productivity enhancing innovations.
It comes at a critical time for the sector which includes more than 12,000 businesses, most of them located in REGIONAL and RURAL AREAS.
Four key areas were identified by the report; they include improving production cost analysis, automating data collection, harnessing AI insights and embracing automation on farms.
The Australian horticulture sector, currently at $8 billion value added, is at a critical juncture and productivity increases will be the key to ongoing profitability for more than 12,000 businesses that make up the industry.
Over the past 30 years, the annual productivity growth of the horticulture industry has been 0.5% to 1.5%, while the broader agricultural sector’s growth has been 0.88%.
Head of Industry Insights at Hort Innovation, Lucy Noble, says the report spells out a range of opportunities, while addressing a number of challenges facing the sector.
