THE SA grain industry will receive a $3 million boost with the announcement of two projects designed to increase export opportunities, drive growth and create jobs.
The state government is committing $1.8m to establish an Value-Added Oats Centre of Excellence, as well as $1.2m for SA to partner in a Pulse Protein Cooperative Research Centre.
The projects are part of an industry-led plan to grow food, wine and agribusiness revenue to $23 billion by 2030.
Primary Industries Minister David Basham said these projects would build on SA's world-class reputation for grain breeding and research.
"In recent years, SA's grains sector has gone through some challenging times with drought and bushfire and this $3m investment aims to further position the state as a global leader," he said.
"This provides a strong platform for further investment into SA's oats and pulses industries to drive growth and create jobs.
"SA is a major producer of high-quality pulses, including lentils, chickpeas, peas and faba beans.
"The average value of SA pulse production is over $200m at the farmgate, with over $330m worth of international exports.
"About 85 per cent of our grain is exported around the world, including to India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and there's an enormous opportunity for SA to tap into growing global demand for value-added grain products, particularly in Europe and North America.
"Through the Value-Added Oats Centre of Excellence, new oat products such as oat rice, savoury oat snacks, and oat milk will diversify food products and increase demand for oat domestically and globally.
"These projects work in nicely with the recently-launched SA Grain Industry Blueprint, which targets total farmgate value of $6b by 2030."
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