Growing food and agribusiness in Moreton Bay through collaboration
Published 01 July 2022
When you’re the largest producer of Australia’s strawberries, grow more than a quarter of the state’s pineapples, and are recognised globally for seafood, it’s no surprise to find Moreton Bay is already home to a fast-evolving food and agribusiness industry.
This July Moreton Bay Regional Council and the Food & Agribusiness Network (FAN) are celebrating 12-months of their strategic partnership and recognising Council’s investment into the growth of the sector, explains Mayor Peter Flannery.
“Moreton Bay is already a $1 billion powerhouse food and agribusiness industry, and every decision we make as a Council is to drive further growth of our economy and achieve our ambitious goals set by the Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS).
“To do this, we need passionate farmers, producers and entrepreneurs that are changing the landscape of the industry, and capitalising on Moreton Bay’s opportunities, and our partnership with FAN reflects our commitment to realising these goals.
Over the past 12 months, Council’s investment has enabled the development of a FAN Moreton Bay cluster, and the employment of a dedicated resource that works on the ground with local producers and stakeholders, to facilitate genuine collaborations and gain a deeper understanding of the needs of members in the region.
Emma Greenhatch, FAN CEO recognises that the timing of the partnership 12 months ago was a perfect alignment of thinking between the two organisations and recognises the impact the partnership has already made on the sector and members.
“We now have 49 Moreton Bay registered members, demonstrating the appetite and demand for genuine connections and growth opportunities within the region.”
“The support of Council has also facilitated the delivery of various seminars and workshops over the year to support the development of member capabilities and capacity.
“We connect our members with knowledge, resources, opportunities and commercial pathways, and this is exactly what we’ve seen from our events including Meet the Makers and our seminars.”
“Last year we had a fantastic success story from Janessa from Bask & Co who was introduced to some key buyers from Drakes IGA and Harris Farm, and through those connections she was able to put her product on so many more shelves.”
“It’s refreshing to see a true collaboration happening on a regional level throughout Moreton Bay, with all the key players sitting around a table with the same goal in mind, that certainly doesn’t happen everywhere.
“It’s through genuine collaboration, like we’re seeing in Moreton Bay, that will help unlock the region’s full-potential of becoming a leading economy and thriving food and agribusiness industry.”
Moreton Bay Regional Council’s partnership with FAN is part of a suite of programs delivered as part of Council’s commitment to the Regional Economic Development (REDS) which identified Food and Agribusiness as a key growth sector.
For more information about FAN Moreton Bay and the member networking events, workshops and other activities you can participate in, visit www.foodagribusiness.org.au/fan-moreton-bay