08 Jan 2012
RIRDC
Wildflowers and Native Plants Program
The Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC) supports a dedicated Wildflowers and Native Plants program, targeting the R&D needs of our unique Australian industry that exports to the world.
Their mission is to manage investment in research and development by the Australian wildflower and native plants industry and government to build:
* A profitable industry through more efficient production methods
* A strong reputation as a supplier of improved, new and innovative products
* Expanded domestic and export market opportunities
* Sustainable use of land and water resources.
R&D funding decisions are directed by an industry based advisory committee, which includes WFA members.
Research and development investment for this program is guided by the Five-Year R&D Plan for the Wildflowers and Native Plants program.
You can also download, or request print copies, of an extensive array of completed research projects – go to: https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/collections/wnp
To make it even easier to locate this information and know what wildflower research and development projects have been completed (and what the findings were), we have added a new subsection to this website.
See completed-r-d-project-summaries-and-links for snapshots of wildflower R&D projects completed since 2000. You will find details of these projects presented in various tables, along with links to the final report or publication.
08 Jan 2012
A brief history of the Wildflowers and Native Plants R&D Program
Around 1989, the Australian Special Rural Research Council was determining priorities for the funding of research and development for Australian native cut flower growing and exporting. Views were divided as to whether to develop a diverse selection of native flora or to concentrate on major crop groups such as waxflower, kangaroo paw, Proteaceae and Verticordia.
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation took over from the Australian Special Rural Research Council and established its Wildflowers and Native Plants Program in 1990. At this early stage, five-year plans, in consultation with the industries and research community in all states, had yet to be developed. The initial objective of the RIRDC program was to improve the profitability, productivity and sustainability of the wildflower and native plant industry.
During the life of the 1995-2000 plan, a total of $7.8M was invested in the program and much of the industry contribution was in kind rather than as cash. The 1995-2000 plan supported 55 projects.
The 2000-2005 plan (which continued to support projects into 2006) invested $7.4M in wildflowers and native plants R&D. A comparison of the Five Year Plans 1995-2000 and 2000-2005 (excluding a commissioned project initiated in 2006), revealed that investment by the industry has increased from 12.9% ($1M) to 20.5% ($1.52M) of the total.
During 2005 to 2012, final reports for 9 projects were finalised. Nine new projects were completed and eleven are underway in late 2011 (two of which are projects following on from earlier work).