Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford has opened the Agri-Genomics Next Generation Sequencing and Biosciences Advanced Computing Facility at AgriBio, Victoria’s centre for agribioscience.
This $5 million dollar investment from the Victorian Labor government in leading-edge technology includes upgrades to AgriBio’s advanced scientific computing facility and new state-of-the-art DNA sequencing equipment powering the generation and analysis of big data in the genome era for agriculture productivity and biosecurity outcomes.
These new technologies will help Agriculture Victoria and La Trobe University expert scientists with research towards developing better crop varieties and livestock genetics for productivity and profitability improvement in the dairy, grains, horticulture and red meat industries.
The capabilities will also help to further enhance the preparedness, rapid detection, response and management of plant and animal pest and disease outbreaks to support market access and growth of Victoria’s agricultural exports.
AgriBio is a joint initiative of the Victorian Government and La Trobe University. It is a world-class centre for agricultural biosciences research located at Bundoora.
Ms Pulford said: “Science at AgriBio is focused on supporting agriculture by using cutting edge technology and infrastructure to increase productivity growth and biosecurity outcomes to ensure the future and prosperity of Victoria’s $11.6 billion agriculture industry.”
