Background

Australian agriculture is a cornerstone of food security, regional resilience, and national prosperity. Yet public RD&E (levy and taxpayer funds) carries much of the burden of funding innovation. Unlocking private investment — particularly from domestic superannuation funds, insurance funds, investors and corporates — represents one of the biggest opportunities to scale agricultural innovation, reduce reliance on public expenditure and attract long-term, stable capital into the sector.

In agriculture, institutional investment remains limited due to perceptions of risk, a lack of scalable investment pathways and uncertainty about agriculture’s ESG value. Previous AgriFutures research (Capital requirements of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector) highlighted these barriers and the need for clearer mechanisms to bring private capital into agriculture and agriculture innovation. This project focuses on practical solutions by examining the policy and regulatory settings that shape capital flows and developing models that position agriculture as an investable sector capable of attracting long term private capital.

This project will provide a clear understanding of why institutional and long-term investors have not engaged with Australian agriculture or agricultural innovation at scale. It will produce insights that allow DAFF and the RDCs to design policy, regulatory and program settings that attract new private and institutional investment rather than shift existing capital from other sectors. The investment assessment framework developed through this work will support government and industry to evaluate different approaches to lifting private investment while considering opportunity cost and ensuring that new capital is additive.

The project will deliver practical and evidence-based models that position agriculture as an investable and resilient sector that aligns with institutional investor expectations. It will give RDCs a clearer pathway to design co investment vehicles that can attract capital and support innovation. It will also provide DAFF with policy levers and communication approaches that better reflect agriculture’s value and reduce misconceptions about risk. The long-term outcome is an agricultural sector with stronger investment pipelines, greater financial resilience and improved capacity to scale innovation through sustained capital flows.

Mainly, this project will achieve the following key objectives:

• Build on AgriFutures’ 2021 foundational research by translating insights into actionable models and frameworks for unlocking institutional-scale investment.
• Understand barriers and enablers to private capital flows into agriculture, with emphasis on institutional and long-term investment (super funds, insurance funds, impact investors, corporates).
• Identify policy, program and system design changes to make agriculture a more investable asset class.
• Develop models that RDCs and government can use to leverage levy and taxpayer funds to unlock larger private capital flows.

Download full guidelines here

Service requirements

The project will deliver practical, evidence-based models to position agriculture as an investable and resilient sector aligned with institutional investor expectations. Building on AgriFutures’ 2021 research, it will identify barriers and enablers to private capital flows, recommend policy and system changes and develop frameworks for RDCs and government to leverage public funds to attract institutional investment.

Key activities include a landscape review of current capital flows and regulatory settings, an international scan of successful global models, targeted stakeholder engagement and development of blended finance and ESG-linked frameworks. Findings will be synthesised into actionable policy levers, investment models and guidance materials, supported by progress reporting, workshops and a final report.

Engagement will ensure investor requirements and regulatory constraints are accurately reflected, while governance by AgriFutures will monitor alignment with DAFF priorities and validate recommendations through structured review points.

Timeline

How to make a submission

Applications for this Request for Quote must be submitted online using the application in K2.

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Users must create a K2 account before submitting a proposal. To set up a secure account before submitting a proposal, please visit the login page below to access our new user or new company request forms.

Usernames and passwords will only be issued while the applicable round is open.

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Terms of reference

AgriFutures Australia uses standard form contracts and agreements for projects and research procured by AgriFutures Australia. These contracts and agreements set out the terms on which AgriFutures Australia will engage successful applicants to carry out the project.

Applicants must be familiar with the contracts and agreements before submitting a response and are advised to seek legal advice beforehand.

These contracts and agreements have been developed to reflect AgriFutures Australia’s statutory and other procurement responsibilities.

If you require any amendments to the standard agreement, please complete the statement of non-compliance for each of the relevant clause. AgriFutures will then assess those requests.

Applicants will be taken to have agreed to all clauses in the Research Agreement that are not referred to in a statement of non-compliance. The extent of any non-compliance will be a factor in AgriFutures Australia’s evaluation of the application.

If you require further information regarding these contracts and agreements please, contact:

Stephanie-Kate Bratton
Legal Counsel, AgriFutures Australia

Contact

If you have any questions about the RFQ process, please contact:

Noella Powell
Manager, Rural Futures