New AgriFutures grants expand investment in people and capability across Australian agriculture

Round 2 of the AgriFutures People & Capability Program is now open, offering $500,000 in grants for practical initiatives that strengthen the workforce, skills and capability of AgriFutures industries and the broader agricultural sector. Applications close Friday, 27 November 2026.

The expanded program builds on strong demand for the pilot round and introduces a new cross-sector grant stream to support solutions to challenges shared across Australian agriculture.

The pilot round attracted 80 applications, including 46 Industry Workforce Program Grant applications and 34 Capacity Building Grant applications. This response demonstrated strong demand for practical investment in workforce development and industry capability.

More than $200,000 was awarded through the pilot round to support successful projects addressing workforce and capability challenges across AgriFutures industries.

Round 2 builds on this momentum with the new Cross-Sector People & Capability Program Grants. This stream will support initiatives that benefit multiple agricultural industries or the broader agricultural sector.

Grants of up to $40,000 are available for practical, scalable initiatives addressing shared challenges in food security, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation, workforce diversity and workplace safety.

AgriFutures Australia Executive General Manager, Industry Research and Investment, Samantha Beresford, said the pilot round highlighted the scale of the challenge and industry’s appetite to develop practical solutions.

“The response to the pilot round showed that our industries are ready to invest in their people and develop practical solutions to workforce and capability challenges,” Ms Beresford said.

“Receiving 80 applications confirmed there is strong demand for initiatives that build skills, leadership, workforce pathways and organisational capability. Funding from the pilot round is now helping successful applicants put their ideas into action.”

“Round 2 builds on that foundation. The new Cross-Sector People & Capability stream allows us to look beyond individual industries and support ideas that respond to shared challenges and opportunities across Australian agriculture.”

Round 2 offers three funding streams, allowing applicants to choose the option that best matches the workforce or capability challenge they want to address:

• Industry Workforce Program Grants of up to $25,000 support the delivery, adaptation or expansion of workforce initiatives that address identified needs within AgriFutures industries.
• Capacity Building Grants of up to $10,000 support industry associations to nominate individuals or groups for opportunities that strengthen knowledge, leadership and capability across AgriFutures industries.
• Cross-Sector People & Capability Program Grants of up to $40,000 support initiatives relevant to multiple agricultural industries or the broader sector, focusing on food security, AI and digital transformation, workforce diversity or workplace safety.

Ms Beresford said investing in people was essential to helping rural industries respond to change and make the most of emerging opportunities.

“People and capability are critical to the productivity, resilience and long-term growth of Australian agriculture.”

“Many of the challenges facing rural industries do not stop at industry boundaries. By combining industry-specific investment with a cross-sector approach, we can encourage collaboration, share knowledge and support solutions that could be adopted more broadly.”

“We encourage industry associations, leaders, producers, businesses, workforce and training providers, and organisations across agriculture to identify the challenge they want to solve and choose the grant stream that can help turn their idea into impact.”

Click here to apply for the People and Capability Program Grants