Agency overview and resources

Section 1: Agency overview and resources

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is a statutory authority established under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989 (PIERD Act).

Its primary objective is to support effective competition by Australian grain growers in global grain markets, through enhanced profitability and sustainability.

By strategically investing in Research and Development (R&D) and the delivery of R&D outputs, the GRDC works to achieve one outcome:

New information and products that enhance the productivity, competitiveness and environmental sustainability of Australian grain growers and benefit the industry and wider community, through planning, managing and implementing investments in grains research and development.

The outcome reflects the corporate vision in Prosperity through Innovation, the GRDC’s Strategic R&D Plan 2007–12, and is consistent with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio goal of achieving more sustainable, competitive and profitable Australian agriculture, food, fisheries and forestry industries.

GRDC’s primary business activity is the allocation and management of investment in grains research, development and related activities to benefit the Australian grains industry and the wider Australian community. The GRDC research portfolio covers 25 leviable crops, spanning temperate and tropical cereals, coarse grains, pulses and oilseeds.

GRDC Vision: Driving innovation for a profitable and environmentally sustainable Australian grains industry.

GRDC Mission: To invest in innovation for the greatest benefit to its stakeholders. This will be achieved by being a global leader in linking science, technology and commercialisation with industry and community needs.

1.1 Strategic direction

2009–10 is the third implementation year of the GRDC’s Strategic R&D Plan 2007–12, Prosperity through Innovation. The GRDC is continuing to monitor progress against the key performance indicators in the Strategic R&D Plan and assess their impact on industry productivity and sustainability.

The Corporation invests in research with the objective being to support Australian grain growers to effectively compete in global grain markets, through enhanced productivity and environmental sustainability. This objective will be achieved by the following four overarching corporate strategies:

• coordinate a national grains research and development (R&D) agenda and portfolio
• deliver against Australian Government priorities
• grow and leverage total grains R&D investment
• ensure R&D is market driven.
  

Underlying these corporate strategies are the operational strategies of the GRDC’s four sub-programs.

The sub-programs for 2009–10 are as follows: 1.1 Practices; 1.2 Varieties; 1.3 New Products; and 1.4 Communication and Capacity Building. At the operational level these four sub-programs form the GRDC’s three lines of business. The three lines of business are supported by three enabling functions: Corporate Services, Corporate Strategy & Impact Assessment, and Legal & Procurement.

The Corporation determines its investment priorities jointly with industry and the Australian Government and acts in partnership with public and private research partners, other R&D investors, agribusiness and groups of grain growers.
Each year the GRDC tailors its investment portfolio to best address the National Research Priorities and Rural R&D Priorities and the Australian grain grower priorities. These priorities have been clearly reflected in the Corporation’s 2009–10 sub-programs, including the government’s focus on climate change and productivity growth.

1.1.1 2009–10 investment priorities

To help achieve the objectives set out in Prosperity through Innovation, the GRDC has identified priorities for 2009–10. Section 2 of the GRDC Budget Statements provides details of these and other priorities, and describes how they relate to the prevailing business environment and the R&D priorities of the Australian Government and Australian grain growers.

Priorities for 2009–10 include:

• climate change—seeking to further understand impacts in order to minimise risk and maximise opportunities, including leading investment in soil carbon sequestration, management of nitrous oxide emissions and adaptation of crops to climate change, through the Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries
• greenhouse gas emissions—further measurement of paddock-based greenhouse gas emissions from grain production systems, to improve life-cycle analyses for a range of crops and environments and help enable better targeting of greenhouse gas mitigation practices
• collaboration with RDCs—continue to develop collaboration through a range of co-investment, coordination and communication activities aimed at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of Australia’s rural R&D investment. Develop a new collaboration with the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) addressing productivity and climate change preparedness in cotton and grain farming systems
• biosecurity—collaborative project involving the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), to examine the extent to which plant pathogens might enter Australia via passengers returning from overseas
• wheat classification—supporting the ongoing classification of new wheat varieties released for production in Australia
• nutrient management—developing, demonstrating and evaluating new ways in which growers can ensure full nutrient availability for crops in above-average seasons while minimising the risks associated with early fertiliser application in poor years
• extension opportunities and training—implementation of the GRDC Extension Plan; investment in training initiatives on three key issues—precision agriculture, on-farm grain storage, and spray drift management
• barley breeding—developing a productive, profitable and sustainable Australian barley industry supported by the release of commercially successful, market-targeted, elite cultivars of malting barley and feed barley
• development of enhanced germplasm— establishing national facilities for the phenotyping of complex water productivity traits in winter cereals
• lupin breeding—supporting the delivery of genetically modified herbicide tolerant lupins that will diversify and increase the sustainability of farming systems while contributing to the revival of the lupin industry
• new food products—identify and develop opportunities for partnering with companies to bring several new grain food products to market: high-amylose wheat joint venture; coeliac-friendly barley project; Go Grains Health and Nutrition Ltd
• new feed products—further develop and commercialise near-infrared (NIR) technology; improve the yield and digestibility of sorghum; examine the potential for wheat and barley lines with novel carbohydrate compositions to increase the digestibility of grains and reduce methane gas production in cattle
• international collaboration—supporting valuable international alliances and investments, such as a contractual agreement and investments with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
• industry and research capacity building—building skills, training and education in agriculture. Invest in the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education. This program aims to encourage senior high school students to consider careers in agriculture and environmental sciences.

These priorities are part of the GRDC’s core strategy of coordinating a national approach to grains R&D, which includes an emphasis on reducing duplication and fragmentation.

 
1.2 Agency resouce statement

Table 1.1 shows the total resources from all origins. The table summarises how resources will be applied by outcome and by administered and departmental classification.

Table 1.1:  CAC Act Body Grains Research and Development Corporation Resource Statement—Budget estimates for 2009–10 as at Budget May 2009

 1.3 Budget measures

The GRDC is not affected by any 2009–10 budget measures.

1.4 Transition from outcomes and outputs to outcomes and programs

From the 2009–10 Budget, all General Government Sector (GGS) entities will be reporting on a program basis. The table below outlines the transition from the 2008–09 Budget year (as at Additional Estimates) which was presented in administered items, outputs and output groups to the program reporting framework used for the 2009–10 Budget. The table also captures revisions made to GGS outcome statements under the Operation Sunlight Outcome Statements Review.

Figure 1:  Transition table

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