The Minns Labor Government today unveiled a $25 million investment program to boost the growth of agricultural industries across New South Wales, by funding agricultural businesses to embed innovation and productivity enhancements, plus lower operational greenhouse gas emissions.
The new Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program will, through smart investments, deliver significant economic benefits to regional communities by helping agricultural businesses increase production, revenues, and deliver new jobs.
The grants will support the modernisation of NSW's producers by investing in projects that the business is co-funding, and are ready to go. Projects that will deliver technology and equipment into operations to immediately scale-up production lines or enable new products, or reduce emissions.
This initiative is part of the Minns Labor Government's plan to keep building up the agricultural sector following the Government's recent announcement that the state's primary industries reached a historic highpoint of $25.5 billion Gross Value of Production (GVP) over the last year.
The new Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program covers the following:
- Grants of between $500,000 and $4 million for eligible applicants covering businesses, cooperatives, and for-profit organisations operating in the agricultural sector
- Upgrades to on-farm and off-farm processing facilities to improve the value add of NSW agricultural products and enabling the purchase of production equipment and Agtech that will lower emissions.
Examples of the type of projects that could attract the grant funding may include:
- Production of new higher efficiency fertilisers from agricultural waste that improve outputs and deliver improved environmental outcomes
- Installation of equipment that enables the production and packaging of plant-based protein products or new crops
- Equipment to increase production of new feed additives that have been developed and designed to contribute towards reduced emissions in the beef sector
- Construction of production equipment for new future fuels that enables scalability and ability to take product to market
- Purchase of equipment for beverage processing or product packaging that enables new products to reach national and export markets
- Installation of new produce processing technology that reduces wastage and improves output for growers.
The program is part of the Minns Labor Government's $400 million Regional Development Trust to support smart projects that make regional communities more resilient and deliver local jobs, investments and businesses.
The program aligns with the Investment NSW Trade and Investment Strategy and complements existing NSW Government initiatives such as Farms of the Future (Agtech), and the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative.
Applications will open on Monday 1 December 2025 and close on Friday 23 January 2026.
For more information, and to view the full program guidelines, visit: nsw.gov.au/aiigp
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:
"Investing in agricultural businesses is investing in a key foundation of our regional economies and creating new jobs for the future.
"The Minns Labor Government is committed to growing the agricultural sector in NSW by driving its modernisation, and movement to lower emissions, plus scaling up its ability to export.
"We know smart investments in projects ready to go have immediate positive impacts on the business and the local community. The stock and station brokers, truckers, grain handlers, suppliers, grocery store, mechanic, and bakery, all busier with a thriving local economy.
"We need to keep fostering and accelerating our agricultural businesses to become more digital, more efficient and more sustainable so they can ride the volatility of the changing global environment."
