Entreprenurial primary producers are being called upon to see if their business ideas could become a reality with the help of the Farmers2Founders Ideas Program.
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Pig In The House organic wine owner Jason O'Dea is one of the many producers who have taken part in the program and said the it helped him shape his business.
His idea was for an organic wine-based, low-alcohol beverage, using the grapes deemed unsuitable for traditional table wine making.
"For years I had an idea of how I could use wine waste and turn into another product," he said.
"I decided to apply for the program early this year and for 12 weeks I learned a lot about consumer based training, listened and worked attentively to turn my idea into a reality."
"I've recommended the program to my friends because the course, lecturers mentors and coaches are top shelf," he said.
"There was pressure with doing homework and during COVID I would have my children at one end doing their school work and me on the other doing the course work."
The program was launched after co-founders, Sarah Nolet and Dr Christine Pitt, saw a gap between the agriculture and tech communities and knew a different approach was needed to solve the problem.
Dr Pitt said one of the aims of the program is to support more producers into the startup market.
"COVID-19 has shown just how important technology and critical thinking is to innovation and we believe this combination with agriculture will be vital to Australia's economic recovery," she said.
"Now more than ever, it's obvious that geography is no longer an impediment to getting new and exciting agrifood concepts and value added products into the market.
"We want primary producers who are ready to seize the day, to sign up and access the world-class coaches and tech mentors that we have as part of this program."
Twelve regional, producer-led startups will be selected to take part in the three-month online development program, which offers primary producers the chance to connect and learn from world-class business coaches and mentors.
The application deadline for the program is August 21, with the program kicking off mid-September.
To find out more and apply visit https://www.farmers2founders.com/ideas-program
