Building smarter and resilient agrifood ecosystems across Australia

Case study

Challenge

The Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies Centre is located at the Food Innovation Precinct Western Australia in Nambeelup. Image courtesy of Murdoch University Media

Australia’s agrifood ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented challenges. Climate volatility, supply chain disruptions, rapid urbanisation, and changing consumer expectations have exposed vulnerabilities across both metropolitan and regional food systems. While the country possesses abundant agricultural resources and globally competitive producers, systemic fragmentation has limited the ability of regions to collaborate, innovate, and scale effectively. Critical weaknesses persist in planning frameworks, freight and infrastructure modelling, access to value-adding opportunities, digital integration, and governance of social supports such as food relief.

Urban regions face emerging pressures, including food insecurity, social inequality in access to nutrition, and limited policy guidance on how food fits within city planning. At the same time, rural and regional areas often lack cohesive datasets, planning tools, and shared innovation platforms to coordinate agribusiness development or respond to shifting market dynamics. Additionally, Australian food producers face global supply chain barriers, with traceability, digital trade, and consumer insight systems either underdeveloped or inaccessible to smaller enterprises. These intersecting issues highlight a pressing need for holistic, cross-sectoral solutions that support both innovation and inclusion in the nation’s agrifood future.

Solution

In response, Future Food Systems (FFS), in collaboration with universities, industry bodies, and government agencies, initiated an ecosystem program delivering strategic projects and established and worked with precincts to build smarter, more resilient agrifood systems across the country. These initiatives addressed the structural, technological, and governance challenges undermining food system performance, and did so through place-based, data-informed, and future-oriented methodologies.

Several projects focused on improving planning and policy frameworks. Groundbreaking research into global best practices in urban agrifood design and planning provided a foundation for more socially inclusive precinct development in Australia. Complementary efforts explored the nascent landscape of urban food planning policies in the country, identifying critical gaps and offering pragmatic recommendations for a national approach to food-inclusive urban governance. Regionally, mapping and data analytics projects in Western Sydney and the Namoi region produced foundational databases and decision support tools that enable councils and development bodies to strategically plan agribusiness precincts based on real-time, spatially accurate insights.

The Coffs Harbour region was the focus of ecosystem development efforts, where FFS facilitated both a detailed diagnostic of the local agrifood economy and the creation of a collaborative innovation space, the Coffs Agrifood Living Lab (CALL). This open innovation ecosystem enabled diverse stakeholders – from growers to educators – to co-create solutions and align their efforts toward shared growth goals.

Addressing infrastructure and logistics barriers, multiple projects developed new freight modelling approaches that combined behavioural insights with macro-scale transport data. These models helped visualise commodity flows and test infrastructure resilience in both current and projected scenarios, particularly for regions such as Namoi and Western Sydney. The integration of AI, emissions regulations, and climate-smart logistics into these tools set a new standard for planning future-ready freight systems.

Digital innovation was a major focus. The Smart Trade Hub project scaled blockchain-based technologies for verified food transactions and international supply chain transparency, building on earlier proof-of-concept work to create a decentralised trade platform. At the consumer end, advanced behavioural research identified the underlying drivers of fresh produce purchasing in NSW. By linking socioeconomic datasets with seasonal product case studies, the project created a framework for micro-targeted marketing and demand forecasting.

Equity and governance were not overlooked. A research initiative into Australia’s food relief systems examined whether they fulfil the human right to food and proposed a new rights-based model for reform. This work aims to shape national policy, ensuring food relief is more coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable.

FFS also contributed to the development and expansion of key innovation precincts. In Karratha, Western Australia, a new Magnesium Business Park emerged from FFS-backed research into valorising agrifood waste into sustainable construction materials. Meanwhile, in Stake Hill, Western Australia, the Food Innovation Precinct WA (FIPWA) – anchored by the Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies (SIFT) Centre – was launched to offer scale-up capacity, R&D expertise, and advanced manufacturing facilities for food and beverage businesses. Together, these precincts are catalysing commercialisation and job creation in regional Australia.

Impact

The site for EcoMag’s new 80,000 tpa plant at Karratha, Western Australia, expected on stream late 2023. Credit: EcoMag Ltd

The combined impact of these initiatives has been transformative across policy, infrastructure, industry, and community dimensions. Planning frameworks developed through this body of work have begun to inform new urban food strategies and regional precinct designs, providing tools and methodologies that align with sustainability and inclusion goals. At a regional level, local governments in areas such as Liverpool, Coffs Harbour, and Namoi now have access to robust spatial data and decision-making tools, empowering them to prioritise investment, identify growth opportunities, and coordinate more effectively with industry stakeholders.

Freight modelling projects have significantly advanced the understanding of commodity flow, infrastructure stress points, and policy response levers. They provide a more nuanced, dynamic basis for transport planning and have supported the case for smarter investment in road and logistics infrastructure tailored to agrifood needs.

Digital transformation was a key outcome. The Smart Trade Hub created a functional, scalable model for blockchain-enabled food trade, bridging producers and consumers with trust-based digital contracts. Consumer behaviour insights generated through large-scale surveys and advanced regression analyses have given NSW producers tools to better align their production and marketing strategies with evolving customer values, such as affordability, provenance, and access.

The development of innovation precincts such as FIPWA and the SIFT Centre in WA has created crucial infrastructure for the food manufacturing sector. These facilities reduce the risk and cost barriers for entrepreneurs and SMEs, enabling them to trial new products, access expert mentoring, and prepare for export markets. Meanwhile, research into sustainable construction materials from agrifood waste has laid the foundation for a new, circular economy business park in Karratha, offering environmental and economic benefits.

Social outcomes were also a focus. The proposed rights-based framework for food relief governance offers a path toward more coordinated and dignified responses to food insecurity – a growing issue in both urban and regional settings. Research findings are already informing debates on food justice and the structural redesign of charitable food systems.

Prospects

The Hon. Jackie Jarvis MLC, Minister for Agriculture and Food, Forestry and Small Business; and Fiona Simson, Chair of the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) joined VIPs including Future Food Systems CEO Dr James Krahe (far L); FFS Program 3 Deputy Lead David Doepel (second from L); Murdoch University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation, Prof. Peter Eastwood (3rd from L); SIFT GM Stuart Johnston (third from R) and Project Management Group Chair, Dr Natasha Teakle (second from R) to officially unveil the plaque at the SIFT Centre, located at the Food Innovation Precinct Western Australia in Nambeelup, in WA’s Peel region.

The outcomes of these projects not only address immediate sectoral needs but also unlock pathways for long-term transformation of Australia’s agrifood landscape. The planning frameworks and precinct templates developed through this work can be scaled and replicated across other urban and regional centres, ensuring that new developments are guided by sustainability, inclusion, and evidence-based design principles. The Coffs Agrifood Living Lab, for example, presents a compelling model for how regional innovation can be harnessed through local collaboration and public-private partnerships.

In the digital domain, the blockchain frameworks, freight planning tools, and consumer analytics platforms developed here provide a foundation for national systems integration. These tools can be adopted by state agencies and industry bodies to enhance transparency, efficiency, and responsiveness across the supply chain – from producer to end consumer.

Policy adoption represents another key frontier. The research into urban food governance and rights-based food relief systems is poised to influence national and state reforms. These policy shifts could reshape Australia’s approach to food access, integrating nutrition, sustainability, and social justice into future planning efforts.

Finally, the establishment of precincts like FIPWA, SIFT, and the Magnesium Business Park signals a shift toward infrastructure-enabled innovation ecosystems. These precincts can act as magnets for investment, R&D partnerships, and job creation, further embedding Australia’s competitiveness in global agrifood markets.

Taken together, the work undertaken across these projects and precincts reflects a national movement toward resilient, inclusive, and innovation-driven agrifood systems – systems capable of withstanding disruption while creating lasting value for communities, economies, and the environment.