High Value Horticulture Value Chains for the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin Project
The High Value Horticulture Value Chains for the Queensland Murray Darling Basin (QMDB) project assists the establishment of new, high value, profitable and resilient horticulture value chains to provide significant agricultural and economic benefits to local communities in south-western Queensland.
The project was funded by the Australian Government under the Murray Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification Program, which encourages sustainable economic development in regional communities likely to be affected by the implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Background
Most irrigated cropping in the QMDB had historically been devoted to the production of cotton and grain crops (maize, cotton, sorghum, wheat, barley, chickpeas and other pulse crops). These crops are generally exported from the district as bulk commodities with little post farm gate value added by local communities.
High value horticulture crops and value chains can generate:
- higher value of production per unit of land area or per mega litre of water used
- higher labour requirements
- potential opportunities for local processing and product value adding.
The project included 5 activities:
