Beyond $100bn: Why Innovation Holds the Key to Australia's Food Sovereignty

November 24, 2025

Australia is forecast to break the $100 billion agricultural barrier in 2025-26—five years ahead of the NFF's 2030 target, yet our $2.98 billion R&D investment is delivering just 0.72% annual productivity growth. This disconnect isn't just a missed opportunity. 

It's a national food sovereignty risk.

As someone who has commercialised 1200+ innovations globally and now serves on boards, I am witnessing a remarkable paradox. Australian agriculture is breaking the $100 billion barrier while struggling to translate massive R&D investment into productivity gains.

ABARES forecasts show production hitting $101.6 billion in 2025-26, yet productivity growth plateaued at 0.72% annually since 2000, down from 2.18% in the 1980s-1990s despite $2.98 billion in agricultural R&D (ABARES, 2025). This isn't just efficiency, it's sovereignty.

The Innovation Translation Crisis

Through my Innovation GameChangers work, I see brilliant research failing to generate strategic returns. World-class institutions produce innovations that struggle to scale commercially, while 85% of farms adopt technologies yet system-wide productivity stays flat.

Having co-founded Monash Food Innovation, I have learned that research excellence without translation systems leaves nations vulnerable to competitors who better convert science into advantage.

Food Sovereignty Through Innovation Independence

The $100 billion milestone creates both opportunity and responsibility. Australia exports 70% of production, making us a regional food security provider (ABARES, 2025). With food security now recognised as a national strategic priority, the question becomes execution: how do we translate policy ambition into commercial reality?

True food sovereignty requires Australian-developed technologies reducing import dependencies, innovation capabilities maintaining competitive advantage, and R&D systems converting research into both productivity and strategic independence.

Strategic Innovation Systems That Work

From my global scaling experience, the next $50 billion requires innovation systems that actually function:

• Bundled technology approaches integrating multiple Australian innovations with market development

• Translation hubs bridging the "Valley of Death" between research and scaling

• Performance metrics focused on strategic impact, not just outputs

• Digital platforms enabling rapid scaling of proven innovations

The productivity plateau isn't inevitable, it's a systems design challenge requiring strategic leadership.

The Board Room Reality

Through my agricultural and innovation board positions, companies thriving post-$100 billion treat innovation as strategic infrastructure, not operational improvement.

This milestone isn't the destination; it's the platform for building Australia's position as the world's most innovation-driven food sovereignty leader.

For directors: How is your board measuring innovation translation success beyond R&D spending? What governance models ensure research investments deliver both commercial returns and strategic food sovereignty?

For industry leaders: What innovation translation systems are you implementing to bridge the valley of death? How are you positioning Australian-developed technologies to reduce strategic dependencies while improving competitiveness?