Regional Development Australia Central Coast (RDACC) is working with the Central Coast Food Alliance to better understand the profile of our agribusiness sector and help minimise risk during natural disasters.
The initiative aims to give the agribusiness community greater capacity and capability to respond to future disasters such as bushfires, floods and plagues.
CEO and Director Regional Development of RDACC, John Mouland, said the initiative would help build resilience within the region and take a proactive approach to managing adversity.
“By providing our agribusiness sector with training and support for disaster mitigation and management, we aim to future-proof the industry and build economic growth,” he said.
“To deliver this, RDACC is undertaking a robust mapping exercise to gather accurate data on agribusiness on the Central Coast.”
RDACC Director of Regional Projects, Funding and Research, Christine Jarvis, is leading the initiative and said agribusiness mapping played an important role in understanding how best to support the industry.
“Through the mapping process we will have a greater understanding of the challenges facing our agribusiness sector and how best to support their economic growth and build employment opportunities, which are all part of building a resilient sector,” Jarvis said.
Examples of agribusinesses on the Central Coast are Bell Farm Thoroughbreds (horses), Bloodtree Farm (poultry), Colourwise Nursery, East Coast Beverages, Family Fresh Farms (vegetables) and Glenworth Valley Outdoor (livestock and agri-tourism).
RDACC is inviting agribusinesses to participate in the mapping by providing details such as the type of business, location, number of employees, infrastructure, their constraints and challenges.
“This will help us in helping these businesses face and overcome any future adversity,” Jarvis said.
RDACC is delivering this initiative funded by a $100,000 grant to Central Coast Council from the NSW Government’s stage one Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.
Source:
Media release, Aug 6
Regional Development Australia Central Coast