ExoFlare has received a $300,000 grant to develop a real-time data driven approach to assessing biosecurity risks in the red meat and pork sectors. This is yet another commitment by the government to show the value of strong and effective biosecurity to protect Australian agriculture.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said that it was vital to bolster biosecurity to protect Australia's agricultural sector.
"When it comes to biosecurity, complacency is not an option.
"Two of the biggest risks to Australian agriculture are African swine fever and foot and mouth disease. These diseases would be absolutely devastating to the pork and red meat sectors if Australia was to have an outbreak.
"This project will enable biosecurity data from across the pork and red meat supply chains, from producers to raw input suppliers, to be shared and analysed in new ways to improve the detection and management of risks before they can become a problem.
"Eventually, the project could be applied across other sectors as well.
"We know that consumers in Australia and internationally want greater transparency and real time advice about the origin and safety of product in the modern digital marketplace.
"Projects like this, that shore up the safety and reliability of Australian products, will give Aussie exporters the competitive edge."
ExoFlare founder Adrian Turner said the company was thrilled to receive the grant.
"We are excited that this project will enable us to explore new and secure ways to collect and share biosecurity data across government, academia and industry.
"So much of the reputation and market access for Australia stems from our status as a clean, disease-free country.
"It's important that we look at the ways we can protect our industry."
For more details on the 14 successful round two projects visit the Traceability Grants Program website.
Fast Facts:
- The Australian Government has committed over $400 million in new funding for biosecurity, which is in addition to this Traceability Grants Program.
- The Traceability Grants Program supports industry projects that will enhance our agricultural supply chain traceability systems, including developing and trialing technologies that digitise information flow.
- The program also aims to provide an advantage for our exporters and to increase opportunities to export Australian commodities.
- The program is part of the Australian Government's Modernising Agricultural Trade agenda to support the target of a $100 billion agricultural sector by 2030.
- The Australian Government is investing $7 million from 2019-20 through to the end of 2022-23 in projects under the Traceability Grants.
