Investing in the next generation of South Australian agricultural innovation

The Malinauskas Government is delivering on its 2026 election commitment to establish an $8 million research and innovation fund for South Australia’s primary production and forestry sectors, backing industry-led projects that will advance the prosperity, sustainability and resilience of agriculture in our state.

The Primary Industries Future Forward Fund will invest in research and innovation initiatives aimed at benefiting the state’s grain growers, seafood producers, livestock and dairy farmers, wine producers, horticulturalists and timber industries.

This is on top of the Malinauskas Government’s 2026-27 State Budget commitment to deliver a $50 million Research and Productivity Fund. Importantly, the Primary Industries Future Forward Fund provides an additional $8 million in research and innovation investment that is specifically targeted to the state’s primary industries and forestry sectors.

The Fund will support a new generation of industry-led projects aimed at benefiting agricultural and forest industries in South Australia, building on the state’s legacy of AgTech innovation.

This year is the 150^th anniversary of when Yorke Peninsula brothers Richard and Clarence Smith invented the stump-jump plough. This homegrown invention was one of the most significant agricultural innovations of its time, designed to address the costly problem of cultivating mallee lands and support the emergence of more sustainable grains and mixed crop industries in South Australia and beyond.

The stump-jump plough went on to be used throughout the British Commonwealth and is a proud example of South Australia’s rich history of AgTech innovation.

Through the Future Forward Fund, the Malinauskas Government is investing in a new generation of South Australian research and innovation, supporting the exploration, development and delivery of insights and inventions that will be needed to advance the prosperity of our state’s primary producers and forestry sector.

The Future Forward Fund has been designed in consultation with primary industries and forestry sectors and will be delivered over four years to support projects led by industry participants working in forestry, livestock, dairy, grains, horticulture, wine, spirits, seafood and fisheries.

The Primary Industries Future Forward Fund will invest in:

• Innovation, research and development, and cutting-edge technologies to increase productivity and capability
• Promotion of South Australian agriculture, food and wine
• Capability-building for primary producers to respond to environmental and market pressures
• Increased sustainability credentials throughout the supply chain
• Strengthening and developing the primary industries workforce
• Sector preparedness for environmental disruptions, biosecurity threats and other emerging issues.

Projects should also align with key industry masterplans, blueprints, or other strategic plans or reports, including (but not limited to):

• SA Grain Industry Blueprint 2025-2035
• South Australian Wine Industry Association’s Key Priorities 2025-2028
• Wine Grape Council SA Strategic Plan 2025-2027
• SA Red Meat and Wool Blueprint 2030
• Chicken Meat Strategic Plan
• South Australian Dairy Industry Action Plan 2024-2029
• South Australian Horticultural Industry Blueprint 2025
• SA Spirit Industry Blueprint
• South Australian Wood Fibre and Timber Industry Master Plan

To find out more about the Primary Industries Future Forward Fund, including guidelines and how to apply, visit the future forward fund.