About
The Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) was created to power innovation and growth in the agrifood sector by accelerating adoption of STEM technologies through the value chain. It commenced operations in 2019 for an initial term of 10 years with a budget from the Commonwealth of Australia and participants totaling $187 million.
QUT scientists to develop "new healthy protein opportunities" for Sanitarium
UK-trained QUT biochemist Robert Speight is leading a new CRC project with Sanitarium Health Food Company exploring healthy proteins for plant-based products.
Vicky Solah: food science and human nutrition expert
Murdoch University Associate Professor Vicky Solah brings 36 years of expertise in food science and human nutrition to the CRC. Right now she's profiling artichokes for CRC partner Mt Lindesay. Next, she'll begin upcycled fruit-and-veg product trials at the new WA Food Innovation Precinct.
Smart cropping advice: CRC publishes new report for indoor growers
This CRC report canvasses the latest developments in phenotyping for advanced protected cropping facilities. It assesses tools and tech used by commercial growers to monitor and manage crop inputs impacting attributes including growth, health and yield.
Northern Australia's native rice: ripe for commercialisation
In stage 1 of this multi-year collaboration, two CRC partner universities, NT Government and three First Nations enterprises have joined forces to collect, analyse and develop protocols for the world's first broadacre plantings of native wild rice in Northern Australia.
Valuable early results from tomato rhizobiome trials
The âTomato rhizobiome projectâ, designed to find ways to foster robust microbial colonies in the root zones of hydroponic greenhouse tomato plants, is proceeding well, with initial findings 'very promising', says industry partner Costa Group.
Meet David Tissue: crop science expert
In a career spanning decades, continents and planets, Distinguished Professor David Tissue has maintained a thirst for exploration and a desire to help crops thrive, even in the most hostile environments.
CRC report: Scoping the protected cropping sector
The first in a series of CRC-commissioned reports on this fast-growing horticultural sector investigates target crops and technologies for commercial protected cropping in Australian conditions.
UNSW spray-dryer produces perfectly dry, 99.8% pure magnesium citrate
In an initial trial in the UNSW-EcoMag project, chemical engineers at UNSW were able to produce very high-purity Mg citrate using their state-of-the-art spray-dryer. It's a first, successful step towards EcoMag's goal of scaling up to commercial production using the new process.
Smart Glass and LLEAF: novel spectra-shifting tech to boost energy-efficiency, crop growth and yield under cover
A new CRC project is comparing two novel light-spectra-shifting films on energy-efficiency and crop productivity in greenhouse-grown lettuce.
Meet Wen Hu: IoT expert
For UNSW Associate Professor and networked embedded sensor expert Wen Hu, automated farms supplying âsmart citiesâ with premium fresh food are the way of the future. And IoT systems are paving the way to this new, networked reality.
Gehan Abdelghany: exploring uses for native crops from the Nile to Northern Australia
Appointed to the âCommercialising native rice projectâ early in 2020, CRC PhD student and beneficial indigenous-species expert Gehan Abdelghany is working on the theoretical component of her doctorate from Egypt while she waits for travel bans to lift.
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“It is unacceptable that hunger is on the rise at a time when the world wastes more than 1 billion tonnes of food every year. It is time to change how we produce and consume, including to reduce greenhouse emissions. Transforming food systems is crucial for delivering all the Sustainable Development Goals. As a human family, a world free of hunger is our imperative.”
âFast-moving companies worldwide are establishing entirely new product and service hybrids that disrupt their own markets and generate fresh revenue streams.â
âAustralia will need to be competitive in the global innovation race by scaling up more high-growth industries and companies; commercialising more high-value products and services; fostering great talent; and daring to tackle global challengesâ
 “Australia can become a global leader in sustainable production of value-added food goods. Achieving this demands industry cluster approaches to investment backed by innovative science, entrepreneurial talent and supportive planning policy.”Â
“We supply domestic and export markets with fresh fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, berries and mangoes and are constantly innovating to improve products and service to our national and international customers. The Future Food Systems CRCÂ can help us to fast track innovation in automation of pollination and harvest, energy and water efficiency, design of our future facilities, smart logistics and trade solutions, and “next product” opportunities with partners in the personalised foods and nutraceuticals sectors.”
“New international airports are built once in a hundred years. Planning for Western Sydney Airport presents an opportunity for our council to support an advanced STEM based agrifood and education cluster that leverages advanced freight facilities and generates high value jobs. We have 150 nationalities in our region and a growing Asian population. Our vision is to help make Liverpool an agrifood dynamo providing fresh food to local people and also the booming Asian market for premium foods.”