Developing a strategy for long-term sustainability of avocado production in Australia (AV23016)

What is it all about?

This project is developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy for the Australian avocado industry. The Strategy will serve as a guide for industry participants and equip them with a tool to effectively promote the industry's sustainability credentials, supporting increased market access and product consumption.

Challenge

There are many sustainability issues facing the avocado industry that require active management, including climate change, water availability, labour, increasing consumer demand for ethical production practices, greater food safety awareness, general population growth, natural resource degradation and increasingly scarce public resources, minimisation of off-site impacts of production, and the efficient use of natural resources such as water, nutrients, soil, energy.

The avocado industry has an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership and commitment to sustainability through the development of a strategy that builds trust with customers and drives high-quality supply matching domestic and overseas consumer demand. A proactive response to sustainability will ensure that the industry is resilient and more readily able to absorb any external shocks.

Response

The project will leverage insights from similar work in horticultural and related industries, developing the Strategy in line with the Australian-grown Horticulture Sustainability Framework.

Extensive consultation with the Australian avocado industry will ensure that the framework is informed by industry needs, builds awareness, and fosters ownership and commitment. This collaborative approach will aid in pinpointing key risks and rewards and provide avenues for future investment and R&D to promote a sustainable avocado industry.

The measure of success for this project is that the outcomes support Hort Innovation to:

• Provide the avocado industry and avocado growers with an overview of the status and potential priorities to improve the sustainability of the industry/businesses
• Provide the avocado industry with an understanding of the potential environmental, social and market impacts, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements
• Identify risks and vulnerabilities of the industry
• Provide the avocado industry with clear messaging on sustainability to support an increase in consumption
• Inform the avocado industry of future strategic industry investments (including future R&D requirements.

Benefit

The Strategy will provide growers and the industry with a clearer understanding of the current status of sustainability within avocado businesses and the industry more broadly, potential opportunities to enhance this status, and future vulnerabilities and risks to sustainability within the avocado industry to support continuous improvement in sustainable production.