$3.9 million invested in Queensland agriculture under fifth round of rural grants

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities The Honourable Mark Furner
  • More than $3.9 million invested in 24 Queensland agricultural businesses and 215 jobs to be created from Round 5 of the Rural Economic Development (RED) Grants
  • Successful RED Grant projects located across 13 local government areas
  • Projects covering a range of industries from high-tech nursery production, horticultural processing and packaging to meat snacks processing line.

The Palaszczuk Government is delivering a $3.9 million boost to twenty-four Queensland agricultural businesses and creating up to 215 direct, long-term jobs under Round Five of its Rural Economic Development (RED) Grants program.

The twenty-four successful applicants for Round Five of the RED Grants program are located across 13 local government areas: Barcaldine, Cairns, Cook, Gold Coast, Livingstone, Lockyer Valley, Mareeba, Moreton Bay, Somerset, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville, and Whitsunday.

Each successful applicant will receive up to $200,000 to complete shovel-ready projects that stimulate economic and employment growth in Queensland’s agricultural industry.

Activities being funded under Round Five of the RED Grants program are diverse and range from a meat snacks processing line and livestock supplement manufacturing to high-tech nursery production and horticultural produce cooling, processing, and packaging facilities.

The Palaszczuk Government’s RED Grants program has provided a total of $13.3 million in funding over five years to support 59 successful regional agribusiness projects, worth more than $52.4 million and has been estimated to create over 2,500 new direct and indirect jobs.

Funding for a sixth round of RED Grants has been allocated for the 2023-24 financial year, with applications to open later this year.

The Round Six grants program will include a focus on supporting Indigenous-owned agribusinesses and projects aimed at low-emissions agriculture.

The Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) administers the RED Grant scheme on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

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