The leading research behind one of Queensland’s brightest industry prospects will be on display when the Centre for Native Floriculture opens its doors on February 17.
Held at The University of Queensland (UQ) Gatton, the Centre for Native Floriculture Open Day offers the chance to learn more about an emerging industry based on the supply of commercially grown cut native flowers to high-value global markets.
Visitors are offered guided tours of UQ Gatton’s tissue culture laboratory and plant nursery and invited to the official opening of the upgraded propagation house, recently outfitted with microelectronic monitoring and wireless communication systems. Working in collaboration with the CSIRO, the Centre for Native Floriculture is using the low cost technology to study and overcome some of the hurdles that hinder commercial production of uniform plant products.
Open Day Coordinator Ian Gordon said the program also included a series of presentations on the Centre’s progress in realising more commercial opportunities from Queensland’s vast resource of 8,000 native flowering species.
“The Centre for Native Floriculture is all about increasing Queensland’s share of a global trade in Australian native cut-flowers that’s valued at $400 million and growing,” Mr Gordon said.
“The Open Day is designed to cater for established flower growers, those people investigating native flower production, and those wanting to learn about our work to facilitate the development of this emerging industry.”
With funding support from the Queensland Government and UQ, the Centre has a key role in facilitating the transition from bush picking in the State forests of South East Queensland to an increasingly cultivation-based, sustainable industry.
Working with grower groups, including the St George-based Kamilaroi aboriginal community, scientists and marketing experts at UQ Gatton have implemented three programs to help grow the industry from its current $9 million value to $60 million over 10 years.
The Centre’s Value Chain Program is pivotal, with participants in value chains intent on avoiding a common mistake of many other new industries in producing a product without a market.
Market research has been used to identify the species preferred by high-value Asian markets, with a group of nursery, grower, exporter and importer representatives then developing a reliable supply chain for the product.
The Floriculture Program provides supporting technical research on flower production and post-harvest handling of the product, while the Capacity Building Program extends the research and development information to industry in a user-friendly form.
“It’s a rarity that information is shared to this degree within an industry. Close collaboration between scientists, government, marketers and industry participants recognises that the best way to crack the tough but lucrative export market is by working together,” Mr Gordon said.
The Centre for Native Floriculture Open Day is on Thursday, 17 February commencing at 9.30am in the Main Lecture Theatre, UQ Gatton. The upgraded propagation houses at the UQ Gatton Nursery will be officially opened at 11.30am, followed by a tour of facilities.
Members of the public and media are welcome to attend.
More information: Ian Gordon, (07) 5460 1235 or mobile 0417 796.887
Brad Henderson, Marketing Coordinator, Faculty of NRAVS
(07) 5460 1229 or 0409 265.587
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