More than $68 million in federal funding for agricultural traceability systems could add more than $1 billion a year to the bottom line of farmers, GS1 Australia says.
Federal Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud made the announcement, saying traceability was key to maintaining Australia’s international reputation and ensuring market premiums for producers.
A National Agricultural Traceability Alliance and National Agricultural Traceability Hub were also announced.
GS1 Australia CEO and executive director Maria Palazzolo welcomed the news.
“We have been working with Australia’s primary producers, government representatives, peak industry associations and solution providers on the enhancement of traceability and trade across the food and agriculture sectors.
“Most recently, GS1 standards including 2DBarcodes and Digital Link are being applied in the dairy, grape, cherry, potato and meat sectors. This investment will allow us to leverage these initial programs to roll out a national, multi-sector solution,” said Palazzolo.
A National Traceability Accord (NTA) was released in November 2021 by the National GS1 Traceability Advisory Group. It represents a non-competitive, Australia-wide approach to cross-sector supply chain traceability.
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) deputy secretary David Hazlehurst said at the time, “The National Traceability Accord is a welcome industry initiative aligned with the DAWE-led National Traceability Framework. We look forward to exploring how it can complement existing Government policies and priorities to strengthen supply chains and build resilience."
GS1 in Australia and throughout the world is working to support government and industry navigate an important transformation to more digital, efficient, and safe global supply chains.
Palazzolo said, “We are committed to helping our 2.5 million plus international and 20,000 plus Australian members through public policy support programs and initiatives including industry advisory, special interest and working groups on issues including traceability, digital labelling the circular economy, counterfeiting, market access and trade reform.
“This announcement by the Australian government will provide the emphasis and direction for industry to take the next steps in enhancing traceability and transparency at every step in the supply chain.”
More about GS1 Australia’s work in traceability can be found here.
