Rural Solutions SA is involved in a study into the technological, economic and commercial aspects of hydroponic horticultural crops on the Northern Adelaide Plains.

The “Protected Cropping Systems” project is a joint activity between Rural Solutions SA’s Food Chain Innovations unit and Adelaide University School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.

Principal Consultant with Rural Solutions SA, Theo Simos said that the work conducted by international students from India, Milind Thakkar and Raghavan Sampathkumar was very timely and would lead to the development of investment attraction strategies vital to horticulture industry development.

“We will map and categorise key drivers based on the degree of technological sophistication, and conduct a detailed financial analysis of the individual categories including their cost structures, profitability and investment requirements,” he said.

Caption
Pictured at Waite Campus are, l to r, Rural Solutions SA Consultant Craig Johns, Raghavan Sampathkumar, Lecturer School  of Agriculture Food and Wine Wendy Umberger, Milind Thakkar, Professor Randy Stringer, and Rural Solutions SA Principal Consultant Theo Simos.

“Key learnings will be documented to develop case studies on the sample firms which should provide us with potential opportunities for the horticultural sector.”

Overall the project is:

• Studying the technological, economic and commercial aspects of Protected Cropping Systems (Hydroponics)
• Appraising the current status and future trends - Globally, and in Australia
• Reviewing and documenting the best practices available worldwide
• Benchmarking the protected cropping sectors in Australia against global best practices
• Appraising the critical issues to be addressed to improve competitiveness of the sector and move towards the industry best practices in Australia.

A successful outcome of the collaborative work between The University of Adelaide and Rural Solutions SA has led to the appointment of a Japanese student to provide specialist market development work on the Japanese market.

For more information contact Theo Simos or 1300 364 322.

Date of release: 3 October 2008