Emerald drip irrigation trial gets funding boost
Published on 21 November, 2011
CQUniversity has gained $11,000 to continue a drip irrigation trial currently taking place in a macadamia plantation in Emerald.
The sustainable agriculture project grant has been awarded to CQUniversity's Centre for Plant and Water Science, as part of the Woolworths Fresh Food Future program, run in conjunction with Landcare Australia.
'Nutty professors' to help macadamia industry thrive
Dr Surya Bhattarai inspects part of his innovative irrigation system
This grant is one of 17 that have been awarded across the country as part of a recent open grants round which provided $150,000 of funding to help farming groups develop or implement sustainable farming practices.
The Emerald trial will result in an improvement in water use efficiency and nutrient management for the plantation, as well as providing significant information which will aid in the improvement of water use efficiency and nutrient management for the macadamia production industry in Queensland as a whole.
Senior Research Officer Dr Surya Bhattarai believes that the funding will help the organisation provide support to farmers in the adoption of technology or practices that will ultimately improve the carbon footprint of their operations.
"The continuation of the research work that our group is doing will be hugely boosted by this funding, all leading towards highly productive and sustainable macadamia production systems in the region," he commented.
Pat McEntee, Woolworths General Manager Fresh Food, believes that the grants provided through the Fresh Food Future program will provide excellent opportunities across a diverse range of agricultural sectors for farmers to learn more about new technology and practices that are available to help improve the sustainability of their businesses.
"The projects that are being funded through the Woolworths Fresh Food Future program are fantastic examples of what farming groups across Australia are doing in the sustainable agriculture sector," he commented.
"Investing in the future of Australia's food production and supply is hugely important to Woolworths, and an investment like this enables knowledge to be shared and improvements to be made that will have a lasting effect on agricultural operations around the country," he added.
Further information about the Woolworths Fresh Food Future program and the other recently funded projects can be found on http://www.landcareonline.com.au/ .