There is approximately $950,000 available under the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program’s Innovation Fund to support the development and validation of the next set of practices or technologies that will help reduce nutrient and sediment runoff impacting the Great Barrier Reef, while maintaining or improving farm profitability and productivity

Science indicates that even if every farmer adopted current best practices, water quality targets might still not be met in all catchments. The focus of this stream of research is intentionally broad, to enable consideration of project proposals for trials of innovative farming practices; cutting edge approaches to ecosystem repair; or the development and trialling of new tools and technologies that will enable greater farming precision as well as improved water quality runoff into the Great Barrier Reef.

Proponents must be able to deliver the project in a Great Barrier Reef catchment as well as offer matched funding (in-kind or cash) equivalent to the Queensland Government’s contribution. The maximum timeframe for funding is up to June 2020 by which time the project should be completed.

The EOI is open to all individuals and groups, including but not limited to private industry, community groups and organisations, government organisations, natural resource management (NRM) regional bodies, universities, land care groups, producer networks, agribusiness and commercial groups servicing agricultural industries, including grazing, sugarcane, grain, banana or horticulture industries.