The Sustainable Agribusiness Strategy for the G21 Region which will support growth and development of the region's agribusiness sector.
The strategy document is attached below.
What is Agribusiness?
Agribusiness is more than just farming. Agribusiness includes:
- The inputs in agriculture, such as agronomists, chemical suppliers, machinery companies and transport, just to name a few;
- Primary production, or farming, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries;
- Manufacturing activities that process the primary products, such as abbatoirs, milk factories, wineries, food manufacturers and sawmills;
- Wholesaling the primary, or processed products, such as grain storage;
- Agri-tourism with our rural landscapes, wineries, harvest trails and small scale food producers who contribute to our visitor economy.
Why develop an Agribusiness Strategy?
From it's history in wool and sheep sales, Geelong has a long tradition in the agribusiness sector.
However the agribusiness sector has changed enormously over the past 150 years and an assessment of the present industry was required.
The Strategy provides information about the entire agribusiness supply chain and a framework that will guide government and private sector investment decisions on how best to assist the development of the industry.
Background
The City of Greater Geelong, along with Regional Development Victoria and G21, commissioned local consultants RMCG & Dench McLean Carlson to develop the Strategy.
This has involved significant consultation over the region including with:
- local processors and businesses
- large
scale and small scale farmers
- large scale producers
- manufacturers
- wholesalers
- G21 Council's
- Otway Harvest Trail
- Moorabool and Bellarine Taste Trails
- Victorian Farmers Federation
- RDV
- GMC
- G21 Agribusiness Forum
- Agriculture Victoria
- Deakin University
- Marcus Oldham College
among others.
Strategic direction and priority actions
The Sustainable Agribusiness Strategy for the G21 Region has five strategic goals and priorities.
They are:
- Grow our markets - work together to grow our existing markets and initiate entry into new markets.
- Develop our people and their businesses - build our people's capability to add value to their business, their industry and their region.
- Encourage innovation and collaboration - create an environment that encourages innovation and collaboration across the supply chain to improve productivity and attract investment.
- Build enabling infrastructure - co-operate and advocate at a regional level to ensure appropriate infrastructure investment to facilitate industry growth.
- Implement the strategy - to ensure the efficient, effective and transparent implementation of the Strategy.
The fifth strategic priority is an enabling strategy. It responds to the overwhelming desire to see action.
Our Administrators responded to the fifth strategic direction by endorsing the new Agribusiness Strategy for the G21 region, and proceeding with two key strategies contained within:
- Define and allocate responsibilities for the implementation of the strategy.
- Monitor and evaluate the impact of the Strategy on the growth and development of the G21 agribusiness industry.
The lead agency for the development of these actions will be Economic Development at the City of Greater Geelong.
Please forward any queries or feedback to [email protected].
G21 Agribusiness Economic Profile update 2018
The G21 Agribusiness Economic Profile - November 2018, produced by Economic Development, is an update to the Issues Paper that informed the Sustainable
Agribusiness Strategy for the G21 Region 2017-2022 to include data from 2016 census releases.