Australia’s national science agency has proposed cutting up to 52 net roles from its Agriculture and Food division and exiting food ingredient innovation, precision fermentation, microbial technologies, and its national food innovation network – changes the food tech sector says leave a significant gap.
CSIRO has proposed withdrawing from food manufacturing and ingredient innovation research, precision fermentation, microbial technologies, and strain engineering as part of a major restructure of its Agriculture and Food (A&F) division, according to a consultation document presented to staff on 4 March 2026.
The proposal, which is subject to staff consultation, involves a net reduction of up to 52 roles from a current A&F headcount of 656. Up to 57 potential redundancies and three early term cessations are proposed, partially offset by eight new positions. The consultation period closed on 26 March, with final decisions expected from mid-April and implementation from May.
The restructure collapses the current five-program structure into four programs – Redesigning Genetics, Farm Productivity, Aquaculture, and AgriFood Systems – and eliminates the Food program entirely.
CSIRO said the Food program is “no longer viable based on implementation of strategic science shifts”, with remaining capability to be transitioned to other programs where relevant.
What is being exited
The science exits are substantial and directly relevant to the food manufacturing sector. The proposal formally exits: microbial technologies, strain engineering, and precision fermentation as applied to food ingredients and products; food manufacturing and ingredient innovation; and the national food innovation network, the Australian Food Innovation Network (AFIN), which CSIRO hosted as a platform connecting industry, universities, researchers and government.
The Sustainability and Food program – which housed these capabilities alongside sustainability research – will be restructured into an AgriFood Systems program with two groups: Bioeconomy and New Industries, and Agriculture and Food Security. Capability in soil chemistry, diet and health research, and data products will also be reduced.
CSIRO told a global food innovation community earlier this year that it had made “a strategic decision to exit work on food ingredients and food processing”.
The communication, seen by international food tech media, noted, “A potential exit from this research area creates an opportunity to refocus our efforts on areas where CSIRO can provide differentiated capability to deliver greater impact at scale”.
The Werribee site – home to CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre, described on the agency’s own website as “the most significant and extensive food innovation expertise available to industry in Australia” – is flagged for potential future site viability review. The proposal notes headcount reductions there “may require a future evaluation of site viability” through a separate process.
Financial driver
CSIRO’s framing is clear: the restructure is driven by a structural funding shortfall, not by a judgment that the research is unimportant. Over 15 years, the agency’s government appropriation has grown at 1.3 per cent per year against average inflation of 2.7 per cent.
The agency says the costs of running a modern research organisation have escalated far faster, and many of its 800-plus facilities require critical repairs and maintenance. “If we are to continue doing the science the country needs, this is not sustainable”, the proposal states.
This is the second round of Agriculture and Food cuts in less than two years. In mid-2024, CSIRO confirmed at least 30 A&F research jobs were being cut as part of a broader agency-wide restructuring.
CSIRO chief executive, Doug Hilton, said at the time that “science priorities change, national priorities change” and the agency needed to refine capabilities toward its most impactful programs.
In November 2025, a further round of agency-wide cuts was announced, with the A&F division facing 45 to 55 role reductions as part of a broader 350-job reduction across CSIRO.
The government subsequently announced an additional $100 million for CSIRO’s annual budget, but the agency said this was unlikely to halt cuts given a $280 million maintenance backlog.
What is being retained
CSIRO is emphatic that agriculture and food research broadly will continue as one of its largest divisions. The retained and growing areas include genetics and crop breeding (Redesigning Genetics program), digital farming systems, farm productivity, aquaculture, bioeconomy and new industries, and agrifood systems research focused on supply chains, climate adaptation and land use.
Eight new positions are proposed, including four roles in aquaculture biology, breeding, nutrition and production systems, and two in digital farm systems analysis.
Industry implications
The exits are squarely in the territory that has underpinned Australia’s food technology ambitions. CSIRO’s precision fermentation work has been a critical enabler for companies including Eden Brew and Eclipse Ingredients.
The agency’s Food Innovation Centre pilot plants – which provide food manufacturers with access to unique processing and testing infrastructure across Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney – have been used by the food and beverage manufacturing sector for product development, safety testing, and scale-up work.
The impact is already being felt beyond CSIRO’s walls. The recent merger of Food Frontier and Cellular Agriculture Australia, announced in early 2026, cited CSIRO’s exit from food innovation as context for their combined advocacy priorities.
Cellular Agriculture Australia CEO Sam Perkins noted the organisations were focused on “commissioning robust economic modelling to quantify the national opportunity and investment required to underpin the commercialisation of Australia’s food biomanufacturing industry” – work that CSIRO had previously supported through its research infrastructure and partnerships.
The loss of AFIN as a nationally coordinated platform also removes a key connector between food manufacturers, SMEs, investors and research institutions. The network had positioned itself as a vehicle for accelerating commercialisation and shaping national food policy, and counted food manufacturers, ingredient companies and government agencies among its members.
For Australia’s food manufacturing sector, which has long pointed to CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre as the primary route to accessible, independent research and development support, the restructure narrows those options materially. No alternative institutional provider of comparable scale has been announced.
