Agrifood Innovation Institute

🌟 AFII's 2024 Highlights 🌟 🌱 As part of the The Australian National University-CSIRO Agrifood Collaboration Program, scientists from both institutions are working together to develop plant-inspired tech that helps industries, including fish farming and mining, to manage large volumes of wastewater. ANU plant scientist Professor Caitlin Byrt says there is demand across a range of industries for this technology. “These industries and services need to manage extraordinary volumes of liquid that are incredibly nutrient rich, and any expansion of their operations will require implementation of ways to manage additional wastewater," Professor Byrt says. “The technology we are developing takes inspiration from the membrane separation mechanisms which evolved in nature to achieve selective separation of valuable nutrients, elements and clean water from complex liquid wastes.” Read more about the team's work >> https://lnkd.in/gwKF74pP View the full 2024 Highlights report >> https://lnkd.in/gYSuJPV4 ANU College of Science & Medicine ANU Research and Innovation Annamaria De Rosa Zongli Xie

At The Australian National University researchers are hard at work developing more resilient food crops for a more food secure world. Read more about their latest discovery 👇

If you're interested in learning more about the intersection of AI and science, join this event in person at the Agrifood Hub on Wednesday 5 March 👇

✈️ The first two months of 2025 have flown by here at AFII! 🌱 Hear from our Director Owen Atkin about some of the key issues discussed at AgriFutures evokeAG, including building a future agrifood workforce, and the role of university R&D in supporting the ag sector. Read more in this Director's update for February 👇

Are you a university student or early career researcher looking to make a positive impact? Register now to join our women in agriculture panel and networking event to be inspired to think differently about your career and open your eyes to the opportunities a future in agriculture offers! 🌱 Register here >> https://lnkd.in/gF-VqNDE About the event __________________ Australian agriculture has ambitious targets for increasing the quantity and quality of the food it produces in a way that is sustainable and economically beneficial. Achieving this in the face of a changing climate and geopolitical instability will require innovation and the sector will need to harness the skills of a more diverse workforce. At this event Agrifood Innovation Institute Deputy Director Alison Bentley will be in conversation with women who are bringing their experience to tackle some of the more complex challenges facing agriculture. When: Friday, 7 March, 10-11am (panel session), followed by morning tea until 11.30am Where: Agrifood Hub (Gould Building 116), Daley Road, ANU This event is co-hosted by the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development and the Agrifood Innovation Institute. All are welcome 😊 ANU Careers & Employability ANU College of Science & Medicine ANU College of Business and Economics ANU College of Asia & the Pacific ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions ANU Research and Innovation

🍔 So many delicious reasons to invest in a sustainable future for Australian agriculture! Thanks to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for sharing the latest broadacre crops data. You can read more below 👇

There is a little under 1 month* left to get your application in for the 2025 #FutureLeadersProgram. Why apply? In this video, hear why from the mouths of some of the 2023 participants: https://lnkd.in/g9Axh5jA More information about the program and applications here: https://lnkd.in/gSEA-X5y *Applications close 19th March.

The AFII team is back from a fascinating two days in Brisbane attending the country’s largest agri-food tech event, AgriFutures evokeAG, and they’re brimming with ideas and inspiration for how we can build a brighter future for Australian agriculture. As they arrived back in Canberra, AFII Director Owen Atkin, Senior Manager Industry Engagement Anne-Sophie Dielen and The Australian National University students Shuoyang (Phoenix) Zhu, Lucy Darragh, Kayleigh S. and Diana Tung shared their key takeaways from the event. 🚜 Agriculture needs a PR strategy. The iconography that defines Australian agriculture may be hindering the industry’s future growth by locking out people who feel they don’t fit the ‘farmer in a field’ stereotype.   👩🌾 This needn’t be the case, as we know there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ worker in agriculture. In 2025 about 30-40 per cent of ag jobs are in large urban areas. Many ag jobs require a background in areas as diverse as tech, engineering, law and policy. 🥕 Tech-driven innovations are here to stay. In the coming years and decades, we could see food with nutrients tailored to an individual’s genetic make-up, cellular food production, and food factories with cost-effective vertical farming. 👥 We need to bridge the gap between industry and researchers. If Australian agriculture is to continue to thrive, we need to work together to deliver the transformative innovation required for the ongoing sustainability and profitability of our food systems. Thanks to the evokeAG team for another thought-provoking event and to our ANU students for being so remarkable! If you’re interested in a career in agriculture, ANU, through AFII, supports students to find pathways into the sector through internships and industry placements. ANU also offers a Master of Science in Agricultural Innovation. You can learn more about it here >> https://lnkd.in/gQFzmyM3 📸 Diana Tung

If you're at AgriFutures evokeAG today make sure you catch Hub member PPB Technology 🥛

Join us in a new GDG for Science Australia this week. We'll be hosting an in-person session at the Agrifood Innovation Institute at ANU. Come an find out more about the amazing power of open models for research with a hands on session. Go from zero to a working, real-time translation service that outperforms many commercial solutions. All running locally on your device and in half an hour! Find out more details and register at: https://lnkd.in/gBZhctkV