The Food Innovation Precinct is “a game changer for the Peel region.”
The Food Innovation Precinct WA (FIPWA) is a state-of-the-art facility fostering industry innovation to drive business growth, develop new products and exports, and transform Western Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industry.
Image: Shire of Murray
The Shire of Murray was awarded the national award for Excellence in Economic Development Through Partnerships & Collaboration, at the 2023 National Economic Development Conference (NEDC) held in Karratha, for establishing the FIPWA.
Shire CEO Dean Unsworth was thrilled to accept the award at the conference, which was aptly themed Evolution of Value – The Future of Economies.
“The launch of the FIPWA earlier this year is a game changer for the Peel region that will further enhance the agri-food sector through value addition economically, while also growing the much-needed human capital.”
Image: Shire of Murray
The first of its kind in Western Australia, the $21.75M Precinct (partly funded by the Australian Government’s Regional Growth Fund and the State Government and DevelopmentWA) is an agrifood knowledge and enterprise hub designed to tackle challenges in the Peel region including a growing population, high levels of unemployment, reliance on traditional industry sectors, and the poor state of food and beverage product development.
As part of the intergenerational economic transformation program, Transform Peel, FIPWA is set to be a strategic gateway to achieving agri-food innovation for the State adopting a smart specialisation and place-based ecosystem starting in the Peel region.
With an ecosystem focus, the targeted outcomes include an increase in employment results, product development and export opportunities.
Shire of Murray President, Councillor David Bolt, was thrilled at the award achievement and said it justifies the hard work applied by many partners and supporters.
“I am proud of our Council for the innovation that it applies in many areas. By looking outside of the normal Local Government box, we are taking a strategic approach to progress our goal of industry diversification and are driving long term economic opportunities for our Shire," Cr Unsworth said.
“Embracing newer forms of agriculture combined with the opportunity to drive innovative product development for export markets powered by an industrial scale solar micro-grid will drive future economic growth.”
The award recognised the Shire of Murray’s ability to work with partners from areas of academia, Federal and State Governments, domestic and international businesses to enable strong partnerships and a growing ecosystem which generates numerous vertically integrated opportunities.
Read more in the September/October 2023 Edition of Western Councillor.
Acknowledgement of Country
WALGA acknowledges the continuing connection of Aboriginal people to Country, culture and community. We embrace the vast Aboriginal cultural diversity throughout Western Australia, including Boorloo (Perth), on the land of the Whadjuk Nyoongar People, where WALGA is located and we acknowledge and pay respect to Elders past and present.