GRDC to boost research with $20 million grants fund

Through this initiative, GRDC grants will be available for grains research and development infrastructure projects located in Australia.

To be eligible applicants must provide a minimum co-contribution of 20 per cent for projects up to $1 million and of 30 per cent for projects of $1 million and above. Applications for these grants will open Friday, 30 September.

GRDC Board chair, John Woods, said the dedicated national infrastructure program was designed to support research partners in creating critical, long-term capacity and capability.

"We have some of the best researchers and technicians in the world working in Australia and to continue to attract and retain these quality specialists we need to have the best infrastructure and equipment," Woods said.

"GRDC is investing in infrastructure to ensure our research community has every opportunity to drive outcomes that deliver genuine returns on-farm for growers.

"This investment comes on the back of extraordinary seasons in 2020 and 2021 in terms of gross value of production nationally and solidifies our unwavering commitment to support RD&E that improves growers' bottom lines."

This is the second time GRDC has invested in infrastructure that supports R&D capacity. In 2017, the organisation invested $15 million across 15 grants.

Successful recipients ranged from major universities to farming groups, with many reporting the new infrastructure had ‘fast tracked new research outcomes to growers, drought proofed key trial sites or allowed for the expansion of major research projects'.

Woods announced the new infrastructure investment program at the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus, where GRDC invested $1.1 million with a co-contribution from the University of Adelaide of more than $196,000 in 2017 for a controlled environment growth room.