AUSTRALIA'S largest locally owned and operated certifier has backed a 2030 vision for Australian agriculture to reach $100 billion profit.
Freshcare has delivered its own roadmap to deliver a "sustainable future for Australian fresh food producers through continuing innovation and development of a robust and trusted certification system".
The roadmap details Freshcare's strategic pillars, goals, how to achieve them and the success for industry.
Structured around three strategic pillars, the goal is to build security for the industry and producers by providing greater access to local and global markets.
The pillars - engaged communities, leading science and technology; and sustainable future - provide a framework for implementation and delivery.
Freshcare chief executive officer Jane Siebum said the 2030 Vision will provide a sustainable future for growers, industry and deliver pathways for growers who are not currently certified.
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"Freshcare's strategic plan is about engaged communities, providing science and technologies that underpin our standards, expanding our growers access to local and global markets," Ms Siebum said.
"We have an abundance of great products in Australia and excellent produce that should be exported. Freshcare certification shows exporters that our growers meet the same level of rigour, if not better, than other markets," said Ms. Siebum.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) currently forecasts for the first time in history that the Australian agricultural sector will be valued at more than $70 billion, with the value of horticultural production forecast to reach a record $12.4 billion in 2021-22, with excellent prospects for growth.
Freshcare currently certifies about 80 per cent of Australian fresh produce supplied through domestic markets and is investing to ensure its assurance standards for the Australian fresh produce and wine grape industries continue to underpin growth in these sectors.
Read the Freshcare Vision 2030 plan here.
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