Researchers are seeking input from WA graingrowers on investment decisions being made for grain traceability.
The project by The University of Western Australia (UWA), running in conjunction with Grain Growers' Alliance (GGA) and the South West WA Drought Adoption and Innovation Hub, is being led by PhD student Emanuel Gomez and overseen by professor Ross Kingwell and associate professors Michael Burton and Amin Mugera.
Professor Gomez, who has previous experience in the grain market industry in Argentina, particularly at COFCO International, said the primary objective of this particular project was to understand growers' perspectives on adopting information-sharing technologies, such as traceability systems, which could potentially differentiate the Australian grain market in the eyes of domestic and international buyers.
"For instance, a traceability system could strategically report supply chain emissions, carbon footprints, or chemical residue levels in grain bulk loads from farm to port or stretch further to the destination country," professor Gomez said
"Given the increasing demands for sustainability reporting in global grain markets, exemplified by initiatives like Louis Dreyfus Company's soybean provenance traceability, our research team sees opportunities for Australia to position itself as a reliable source of low-emission grains.
"Therefore, understanding industry positions about traceability technologies that could facilitate trustworthy information sharing is critical."
The research team has already collaborated with several grower groups in the Wheatbelt, including Stirlings to Coast Farmers, West Midlands Group, Facey Group, Liebe, Merredin & Districts Farm Improvement Group, Ravensthorpe Agricultural Initiative Network and South East Premium Wheatgrowers Association, but is now inviting individual farmers to participate in a survey.
Professor Gomez said the survey was targeted explicitly towards WA growers for several reasons.
"Primarily due to WA's significant export orientation and highly integrated grain supply chain," he said.
"The co-operative nature of WA growers and the short, integrated supply chain place WA in an advantageous position for the rapid implementation of traceability systems, particularly from a technological set-up perspective."
WA graingrowers are invited to participate in a survey regarding their views and expectations on potential grain traceability systems.
Participants will be asked questions covering aspects of adoption of traceability systems.
The survey can be completed electronically or on paper and should take about 20 minutes.
Associate professor Michael Burton said graingrower contributions would aid researchers to inform future decision making on traceability systems and ensure that growers' interests and concerns are addressed.
"A better understanding of how traceability can promote value creation for the grain supply chain requires stakeholders' input,' associate professor Burton said.
"Improving the visibility of your grain's journey along the supply chain will help to strengthen Australia's position in the domestic and international grain market."
To date 65 farmers have responded and the team hopes that number will double.
"In compensation for your participation in the survey, you will be offered the opportunity to participate in five draws for a $100 Bunnings voucher," Mr Gomez said.
The survey will remain open until mid March.
"Assuming everything goes smoothly, we anticipate preliminary findings will be made available via the GGA website between May and June of this year," Mr Gomez said.
- Link to survey https://tinyurl.com/graintraceability
