Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Hodgman Liberal Government has a bold vision for the State's agricultural sector, and is committed to supporting the farming community by investing in education and resources for farmers wanting to take their business to the next level.
Today I launched the 'Cultivating Rural Excellence' program, which is being delivered by Rural Business Tasmania with funding of $50,000 per annum over three years from the Tasmanian Government. This funding is part of our commitment of $800,000 over four years for Rural Financial Counselling Services and Farm Business Mentoring to support Tasmanian farmers with business skills, financial literacy, planning and debt mediation.
The program will target Tasmanian farmers seeking to diversify, expand and innovate their farms to enhance profitability by providing a course to equip them with the tools to realise their ambitions.
This course will focus on things such as planning for success, maintaining a positive mindset, creating effective branding, and developing better communication skills.
Supporting our farmers is a critical step in achieving the Hodgman Government's target to increase the farm gate value of the State's agricultural sector to $10 billion a year by 2050.
Through our comprehensive AgriFood Plan we have committed over $150 million towards meeting these increased productivity goals, with for example, $70 million towards developing Pipeline to Prosperity – the third tranche of irrigation schemes - and more than $30 million towards ongoing and increased support for agricultural research and development.
