From the Director: April 2026

By Professor Owen Atkin, Director, ANU Agrifood Innovation Institute

National discussions this month on research capability, food security and innovation have raised a common theme – Australia’s agrifood system is entering a period where coordination, scale and long-term investment will be critical to delivering impact.

In April, the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) released a report, Working Together to Secure Australian Grains RD&E Capacity and Ability, which makes an important contribution to this conversation. The review offers a system-wide assessment of Australia’s grains research, development and extension capability, identifying both areas of strength and emerging risks across workforce, infrastructure and coordination. It also reinforces the need for a more strategic, forward-looking approach.

A key theme of the report is the importance of measuring and monitoring system capability, reflected in the GRDC’s observation that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Without visibility into workforce capacity, critical infrastructure, and provider capability across the RD&E system, it is difficult to make informed decisions at a national level. Achieving visibility is not easy, particularly in large institutions where expertise and infrastructure are distributed across disciplines and organisational units. 

As a university‑wide institute, AFII sees a clear role in helping to bridge this gap by providing visibility into the University’s infrastructure assets, workforce strengths, and strategic alignment. 

The GRDC report also emphasised the importance of mission-based, multi-partner approaches for addressing complex challenges at scale. This recommendation aligns closely with broader national discussions, including the Strategic Examination of Research and Development (SERD) report released in March, which highlighted the need for long-term, coordinated investment models that bring together science, industry and policy.

At AFII, we see mission-based approaches as a critical shift. Many of the challenges facing agriculture, from earth observation systems, access to low-carbon liquid fuels and heat impacts due to climate change, cannot be addressed through short-term or single-discipline projects. They require sustained collaboration, shared infrastructure and clear pathways from research to application. Mission-style investment provides a framework to do this, aligning capability building with real-world outcomes over time.

As readers may recall from previous Director’s messages (e.g. March 2021, September 2025) and related articles, ANU has consistently advocated for mission‑style approaches to address complex national challenges. One example is the proposal by ANU, the University of Adelaide, the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland for a National Mission for Future Crop and Community Resilience. In this context, I strongly welcome the growing emphasis on mission‑led models in both the GRDC and SERD reports.

The GRDC report also highlighted the importance of evolving procurement and partnership models to support long‑term capability while maintaining system responsiveness. For this to happen effectively, mechanisms are needed that enable early engagement, co‑design and clear visibility of expertise across large, complex institutions. By investing in a university-wide institute structure, AFII provides a coordinated, single point of connection between external entities and ANU, helping ensure that relevant researchers and infrastructure are visible and able to contribute meaningfully to co‑design processes as long‑term investment approaches evolve.

Taken together, the directions outlined in the GRDC report and the SERD review point to a broader shift toward more coordinated, long‑term approaches to building national research capability. We look forward to seeing how the GRDC report informs the Government’s response to the SERD review, particularly in recognising agrifood as a national innovation priority and in supporting more integrated, multidisciplinary approaches to research and development.

This month, I also participated in two forums focused on food security: the Crawford Fund’s Food Security in a Changing Climate – a shared future for agriculture in Australia and the Pacific, and one of the Federal Government’s National Food Security Strategy co-design workshops. Together, these discussions reinforced the importance of thinking about food security as a systems challenge – one that places people at the centre, reduces silos between stakeholders, and connects capability, infrastructure and decision‑making.

Discussions at the Crawford forum reinforced the need for a systems approach, with panellists highlighting: 

• the need for mission‑scale ambition to deliver step‑change productivity outcomes
• the importance of vertical integration to connect growers, researchers, industry and communities, and 
• the value of platform‑based approaches that enable people to navigate and contribute to the system more effectively. 

There was also strong emphasis on investing now to ensure future farming systems are profitable, sustainable and scalable.

The development of a National Food Security Strategy marks an important moment for reconsidering how food security is framed in the Australian context. Unlike many countries, Australia’s challenge is not primarily one of food availability, but of ensuring that the systems that produce, process and distribute food remain productive, resilient and economically viable over the long term. Framing food security in this way places the focus on questions of scale, system design and sustained capability.

Thinking about food security in system terms also led me to reflect on Australia’s unique production context. Australia can and does grow sufficient food for domestic needs, while exporting around three quarters of what we produce. While this might suggest that export‑focused agriculture is peripheral to national food security, my sense is the opposite is true. 

A food system that is sustainable and profitable enough to meet long-term national needs relies on the economies of scale, infrastructure investment and innovation capacity that large production systems and export markets enable. Our position as a reliable supplier to regional and global markets also supports economic stability and trade relationships that, in turn, underpin access to essential inputs such as fuel and fertiliser. 

AFII’s role is to help connect these elements, bringing together expertise across science, technology, economics and policy to support more coordinated and effective responses. By working across disciplines and with partners in industry and government, we aim to contribute to the development of agrifood systems that are resilient, productive and fit for the challenges ahead.

Another busy month ahead at AFII, as we look forward to being part of these critical national conversations.