Request for Quote: Impact of Varroa mite on pollination and Australia’s national food security

AgriFutures Australia is seeking a service provider to deliver a comprehensive policy analysis and stakeholder engagement project addressing the Varroa mite challenge. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the resilience and sustainability of Australia’s pollination services and food security.

The Varroa mite incursion in Australia poses a direct threat to the pollination capacity of the honey bee industry, which could significantly impact Australia’s food security through reduced production in honey bee pollination-dependent crops.

In 2025, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced the development of ‘Feeding Australia’, a national food security strategy. As consultation for the strategy will commence in 2026, this project will provide the pollination knowledge-base necessary for a robust and holistic approach to food security, with the potential to align Commonwealth and State Governments for successful, coordinated action. The need for a broader focus on food security within Australia has also emerged through the ongoing AgriFutures project ‘A Systems Thinking Approach to Australian Agriculture’.

This project aims to deliver robust evidence and insights into the impact of the Varroa mite incursion on Australia’s pollination capacity, highlighting the risks to hive numbers, food security, and regional economies. By benchmarking Australia’s situation against international experiences in Canada and New Zealand, it will demonstrate the potential for significant hive declines and the widening gap between pollination demand and supply, particularly during peak seasons. The project will assess vulnerabilities in seasonal and regional pollination services, identify risks to honey production, and provide practical, real-world data to inform a coordinated policy response. Ultimately, it will deliver evidence-based recommendations to government and industry, strengthen stakeholder collaboration, and shape strategies that safeguard Australia’s food security and ensure the sustainability of pollination services into the future.

Overview of requirements

The service provider will be required to deliver:

• Literature review: A comprehensive review of government reports, academic and economic studies, and industry publications from Australia and international sources. The literature review should address both pollination and honey production to ensure a holistic understanding of industry dynamics.
• Comparative policy analysis: A detailed case study analysis of policy responses to Varroa mite in countries such as New Zealand and Canada to identify successful strategies and potential pitfalls.
• Stakeholder consultation and engagement: Structured interviews and surveys with key stakeholders, including beekeepers, peak industry bodies (e.g., Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Almond Board of Australia), horticultural producers, and government officials from biosecurity and agriculture departments.
• Detailed report: including but not limited to providing a range of policy options and/or recommendations for Australian governments as well as a roadmap for proactive and effective policy implementation and a clear pathway for a coordinated response allowing industry to maintain and increase its pollination capacity to ensure the long-term viability of Australian food source crops, honey and enhancing Australia’s food security.

Terms of reference

AgriFutures Australia uses standard form contracts and agreements for projects and research procured by AgriFutures Australia. These contracts and agreements set out the terms on which AgriFutures Australia will engage successful applicants to carry out the project.

Applicants must be familiar with the contracts and agreements before submitting a response and are advised to seek legal advice beforehand.

These contracts and agreements have been developed to reflect AgriFutures Australia’s statutory and other procurement responsibilities.

If you require any amendments to the standard agreement, please complete the statement of non-compliance for each of the relevant clause. AgriFutures will then assess those requests.

Applicants will be taken to have agreed to all clauses in the Research Agreement that are not referred to in a statement of non-compliance. The extent of any non-compliance will be a factor in AgriFutures Australia’s evaluation of the application.

If you require further information regarding these contracts and agreements please, contact:

Stephanie-Kate Bratton

Legal Counsel, AgriFutures Australia

stephanie-kate.bratton@agrifutures.com.au

Contact

If you have any questions about the RFQ process, please contact:

Lechelle van Breda

Manager, Rural Futures

Lechelle.vanbreda@agrifutures.com.au