News
Find out the latest AFII news
From the Director: April 2026
New national reports and food security discussions point to one clear message: we need better coordination, clearer visibility of capability, and mission‑led, long‑term investment to deliver impact at scale.
In this month’s AFII Director’s Message, Professor Owen Atkin reflects on why food security is a systems challenge, why exports matter to national resilience, and how mission‑based approaches can help Australia’s agrifood sector meet what’s ahead.
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From the Director: March 2026
March underscored the growing complexity and volatility of Australia’s agrifood systems and the critical need for cross-sector collaboration. From resilience and fuel security to mission-led R&D, discover how ANU and partners are responding. Read more in the March message from the AFII Director.
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Intense heatwaves directly threaten crops and native species. Here’s what we can do
A recent article co-written by AFII Director Owen Atkin in The Conversation Australia + NZ highlights how intense heatwaves damage crops at critical growth stages, disrupt pollination, reduce yields and place enormous stress on native species.
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- News
At the beginning of April, I attended the annual editorial meeting of independent plant science journal New Phytologist. New Phytologist is one of the world’s highest ranked plant science journals – I have been an editor for the journal since 2007.
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March provided the opportunity to connect with colleagues from Australia and the UK at the annual ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics) Outlook Conference.
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Plant breeders can now make predictions about the crops they are growing using computer modelling based on images from space. It sounds futuristic, but this is a reality for some canola breeders in Australia and Mexico following work done by researchers at The Australian National University.
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Last week, I attended evokeAG in Brisbane, along with Anne-Sophie Dielen and four ANU students. evokeAG is an annual event where industry, government and research institution stakeholders come together to explore and debate innovations in the agrifood sector.
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The dairy industry is worth close to one trillion dollars globally. But with $150 billion worth of dairy wasted each year before it gets to the consumer, its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is unnecessarily high.
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As 2024 comes to a close, it gives me great pride to reflect on the past 12 months and what the Agrifood Innovation Institute and wider Australian National University community have achieved.
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It was a great honour to welcome FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu and Deputy Director General Beth Bechdol to the Agrifood Innovation Institute this week.
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In recent weeks, there has been widespread media coverage of the financial difficulties facing the Australian National University.