Hort Innovation has launched its latest initiative, Australian-Grown Innovation, developed in collaboration with Startupbootcamp and Cluster Connect, and funded through its Frontiers co-investment program.
Over the next five years, the program aims to accelerate grower-led innovation through three stages of mentorship for Australian growers, developing commercially viable products and services that make a real difference on the ground.
Its objective will be to unlock opportunities and deliver practical solutions to real industry challenges such as climate resilience strategies, value-added product innovation, technology-driven solutions harnessing AI, and supply chain improvements to increase productivity.
All solutions created will deliver on solving these challenges through a requirement to meet one of the five overarching Frontiers themes – healthy living, adaptation and resilience, market access, disruptive technologies and capability building.
Hort Innovation CEO, Brett Fifield, said Australian growers are the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs.
“They’re on the frontline of horticulture and know better than anyone the problems that need solving,” said Fifield.
“This program has been designed to tap into this knowledge and the entrepreneurial spirit of Australian growers to try and solve problems together for our horticulture sector.
“Our recent Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook showed that the horticulture sector has now reached a total production value of $17 billion. With more growers being given the tools to bring farm changing ideas to life, we know that we will see this number continue to grow,” he said.
Since launching in June 2024, Hort Frontiers has helped to develop and support programs across the agrifood industry, most recently with a new R&D program aiming to increase the daily vegetable consumption of Australians by one serve a day, which the organisation says could contribute $3.3 billion across the vegetable supply chain. Australian-Grown Innovation will be co-funded by the Hort Frontiers program and Startupbootcamp.
The three program stages include:
- Engage
Local workshops for growers and supply chain participants where they will learn about innovation in horticulture, gain insights and a practical toolkit from real people in the industry with lived experience of innovating. This is open to all growers in the horticulture sector. - Incubate
Following the engagement session, a cohort of 10 are selected based on an expression of interest. This cohort will participate in a six-week incubation program which offers hands-on support via workshops and mentoring to refine, test and create market viable opportunities. Participants will also learn about global best practice in their areas of innovation. - Build
A 12-week program offering participants an opportunity to develop a test version of their idea and trial it in a real-world market environment. Selected participants may also take part in a global immersion experience, where they explore partnership opportunities, participate in site visits, learn international best practices, connect with global experts, and learn from leading innovators to help scale their idea.
Startupbootcamp food and agriculture innovation partner, Anna Barlow, said the program is for growers, producers, entrepreneurs and businesses across the horticulture supply chain who want to develop new ideas and turn them into real-world products or services.
“Helping new businesses in the food and agriculture space has been a big part of what Startupbootcamp has been focused on and we are thrilled to be able to work with Frontiers to bring this program to life to continue doing so,” said Barlow.
To find out more or register for the program head to frontiers.au/agi.
