AgriFutures Australia 2024 Stakeholder Summit: A Confluence Of Innovation, Collaboration, And Future Leadership

The annual AgriFutures Stakeholder Summit brought together new, emerging, and established leaders from across the agricultural sector to help shape the future of the industry.

The 2024 Stakeholder Summit, held from 22-26 July in Wagga Wagga, offered a unique platform for key industry leaders and stakeholder groups to engage in meaningful conversations, forge new connections, and explore collaborative opportunities.

A cornerstone event at the week-long Summit was the AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship workshop. Established in 2011, the Scholarship Program nurtured the next generation of leaders in Australian agriculture, delivering university students a $10,000 bursary and a chance to kickstart their careers through work with agribusinesses, peak farming bodies, and agricultural research groups.

Sydney University student Ben Peden, who was part of the 21-strong cohort awarded a 2023-24 Horizon Scholarship, looked forward to attending the Summit.

The fourth-year agricultural science student explored a career dedicated to improving food security.

“Agriculture appealed to me because it felt like an industry where I could make a significant impact. There are some big challenges facing the planet, we’ve got to feed 10 billion people by 2050, and that seems like a pretty important mission to get behind,” he said.

AgriFutures Acting General Manager, Workforce, Communications and Adoption, Jennifer Galloway said a key tenant of the Summit was to develop pathways and foster the next generation of Australian agricultural leaders.

“We know that ideas thrive when people gather meaningfully, step out of their day-to-day, and collaborate beyond their business-as-usual approach.

It’s not every day that you get to listen and share diverse points of view on current and future issues with students and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, AgriFutures Board of Directors, Industry Advisory Panel Chairs, and Horizon Scholarship sponsors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to share some of the innovative work being done to address the challenges facing agriculture and rural industries,” she said.

National judging for the 2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award also took place at the Summit. State and Territory winners spent the week refining their pitches to present to the panel of judges ahead of the 2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Gala Dinner & National Announcement on Tuesday, 20 August 2024.

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