Two grower groups have received funding to explore opportunities in the premium and value added grain space as part of an initiative between DPIRD’s Food Industry Innovation project and the Grower Group Alliance.
Southern Dirt and South East Premium Wheatgrowers Association (SEPWA) are successful recipients for the initiative, which aims to help grower groups and grower group members investigate and realise premium grain food or beverage products in WA.
Recipients of the Developing Premium Value Added Grain Products in WA initiative:
| Grower group | Project details | Funding received |
| Southern Dirt | Feasibility study to explore the establishment of a flaxseed/linseed oil industry in the WA high rainfall zone. | $30,000 |
| South East Premium Wheatgrowers Association (SEPWA) | Feasibility study to analyse viability of the establishment of a facility in the Esperance port zone to sort/grade lentils for quality, processing and packaging and marketing. | $27,900 |
About the Developing Premium Value Added Grain Products in WA initiative
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Food Industry Innovation (FII) team has partnered with the Grower Group Alliance (GGA) hosted by the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA) to help grower groups and grower group members investigate and realise premium grain food or beverage products in WA.
The objective of the FII and GGA partnership is to encourage grower groups and their grower members to investigate opportunities in the processing and value-adding space or for groups where members have expressed a desire to explore new value-added products or processing ideas to expand the value of WA grains.
The partnership between FII and GGA seeks to identify key value-add opportunities for development of consumer facing products in areas where WA had comparative advantage within the grains industry. Its aim is to engage with the WA grower group network to assess interest, capability and development potential for the key opportunity areas that have been identified or other grains related opportunities.
By utilising seed funding through FII, the GGA is coordinating an initiative to assist in prefeasibility investigations or business case development for the most prospective opportunities for value-adding and processing of grain. The initiative is available to invest into prefeasibility studies and business case development efforts where grower groups are an active member of the proposed value chain partnership driving the activity or product concept. This initiative seeks expressions of interest (EOIs) from grower groups looking to explore opportunities in the value-add space. The total investment in this initiative is $100,000 with individual EOI funding up to a value of $30,000.
Key Dates
| 9 January 2019 | Expressions of Interest open |
| 31 January 2019 | Teleconference for applicants and interested parties. Contact the GGA to register your interest in participating: admin@gga.org.auau |
| 28 February 2019 | Expressions of Interest close |
| 8 March 2019 | Applicants notified |
| 31 May 2019 | Final prefeasibility or business case due |
Initiative documentation
 | Developing Premium Value-Add Grain Products in WA Initiative Call for Expressions of Interest – Guidelines and Submission Requirements |
| Developing Premium Value-Add in WA – a review of the potential opportunities for the WA grower group network (GGA, Dec 2018) |
| Premium Agrifood Market Opportunity – A project under the Food Industry Innovation (DAFWA, Dec 2016) |
| Western Australia Arable Crops Industry – Overview for Potential Investors and Other Stakeholders (Coriolis, July 2017) |
| WA Grains Industry Strategy 2025+ (GIWA, 2015) |
For more information
If you have further questions regarding the program, please contact:
| Kallista Bolton Stakeholder and Communications Manager Grower Group Alliance kbolton@gga.org.au |