Camden at the pulse of world-leading crop research

Thursday, 27 October 2016

Camden is at the epicentre of world-leading research which could revolutionise food production in the face of climate change and scarce natural resources.

Federal Member for Hume and Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, Angus Taylor, says the $14.5 million Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture hub at The University of Sydney’s Camden campus will explore the plant’s potential as a gamechanger in world agriculture.

“Legumes’ role as nitrogen-fixers and use by farmers in disease control during the crop cycle has made them an essential part of farming practice in Australia,” Mr Taylor said.

“This unique dual role places them in a category of their own and holds the key to their huge potential. It also brings challenges in breeding a plant that has the best qualities to suit both roles.

“It is pleasing to see that the team that has come together to form this Research Hub at The University of Sydney is seizing on the challenges and opportunities of legumes and will embark on an exciting research program supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Research Programme.”

More than 1.8 million hectares of pulse crops are grown in Australia each year, producing 2.2 million tonnes of grain in 2015, worth $1.2 billion in exports.

“This hub – which will receive $3.97 million in Federal Funding over five years – will help provide a coordinated approach to position legumes as the coming generation's staples of choice,” Mr Taylor said.

“Research into food is one of the Australian Government’s nine Science and Research Priorities, with cross-disciplinary research to drive high technology food manufacturing and agriculture identified as an opportunity for Australia – the research goals of this Research Hub clearly align to this priority.

“It’s also an investment in Camden and recognition of the township’s role in Greater Western Sydney as a strategic location able to facilitate the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas.”

The  ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub – Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture, launched on Monday October 24, will draw together the best researchers and leading industry experts to play a vital role in addressing complex food security, health and environmental issues, both here and abroad.

It will focus on innovative approaches to enhance drought/heat, salinity and flooding tolerance and to improve below-ground traits that are naturally linked to nitrogen acquisition for better plant growth.

The hub will include 13 chief investigators from state government agriculture research departments and universities including the University of Sydney’s Centre for Carbon, Water and Food, the Plant Breeding Institute, as well as the University of Western Australia, University of Adelaide, Australian National University and Flinders University – and create 12 postdoctoral roles. 

Director of the hub, Associate Professor Brent Kaiser, said the importance of legumes in sustainable cropping systems had been extensively documented; legumes also promised significant untapped potential for genetic improvements.

“Although the past 50 years has seen an increase in the area planted with grain legumes, the area planted with cereals still outnumbers this fourfold – this lag may be due in part to unstable legume prices because of high variability in their yields,” Associate Professor Kaiser said.

“This lag, particularly in developing countries and despite increasing global demand, if left unchecked, could threaten current and future food security. As the world shifts from animal to plant-based protein sources because of supply and cost issues, legumes are ideally placed to provide people with their nutritional needs.

“Legumes require low inputs and put nitrogen back into the soil, rather than using extensive amounts of expensive synthetic fertilisers that pollute the environment.”