Pollination Security Cooperative Research Centre

The Pollination Security Cooperative Research Centre (PS CRC) will bring together industry, research organisations and communities to improve Australia’s pollination capabilities.

The PS CRC will undertake research to improve pollination security and coordinated risk management, build capacity and increased awareness across pollinator-dependent sectors, reduce the risk associated with insect pollination and implement industry level practice change. Overall, this research will strengthen Australia’s food security and ecosystem health.

Wheen Bee Foundation has offered its services to act as an independent secretariat to support the Pollination Security CRC ‘Core Bid Group’. The ‘Core Bid Group’ is made up of co-investment partners who are working to develop a strategic CRC bid for submission to CRC Round 24 in 2023. The group are led by CRC bid CEO Professor Jean-Pierre Scheerlinck. The bid deadline for Round 24 has now been set, with applications closing 7 March 2023.

The Foundation has no commercial interest in any outcomes from the work of the PS CRC but is strongly committed to supporting the PS CRC because of the importance of pollination services to agriculture and the environment.

The role of a Pollination Security CRC

The CRC Bid Scope has four key focus areas, each led by a program leader and overseen by Chief Scientist, Professor Saul Cunningham.

Pollinator Ecosystems: (Leader: A/Prof Romina Rader, UNE)
Sustainable management of the pollination ecosystem
This key focus area addresses the pollination environment, including natural habitat and farm habitats to increase the number and diversity of wild pollinators and other beneficial insects in the landscape.
Managed Pollinators: (Leader: Dr Denis Anderson)
Improved management of the pollinator and supply chain
This key focus area addresses the capabilities and capacity of Australia’s current pollination providers, including managed honey bees, managed native bees and other managed pollinators.
Efficient Crop Pollination: (Leader:Prof Alistair Gracie, UTas)
Increased pollination efficacy
This key focus area addresses pollinator-dependent crops and plants and how improvements can be made at the plant or crop level to improve pollination outcomes.
Platform Technologies: (Leader: A/Prof Alan Dorin, Monash)
Technology supporting the research
This key focus area develops and validates advanced sequencing, bioinformatics, remote sensing, geographical information systems, and artificial intelligence that support the research.

Outcomes

Within each of the key focus areas, the CRC’s research and extension projects will:

Increase national awareness of pollination security and improve coordinated risk management
Build capability across pollinator-dependent sectors
Implement practice change across agriculture and bee industries

Research and extension activities

Each theme has key areas of focus for research and extension activities. These include:

Sustainable management of the pollination ecosystem — the environment

Improving agriculture landscapes beyond the crop bloom period to increase pollinator survival
Integrating pollinator needs with best practices for agriculture
Meeting increased resource needs of bees and other pollinators for habitat
and nutritional requirements
Augmenting pollination services – utilising native bees and wild pollinators to enhance commercial pollination services
Safeguarding bees from the harmful effects of chemicals and pesticides
Discovering and documenting Australia’s remaining native bee species and
evaluating their value as pollinators
Evaluating and implementing technologies for improved landscape management, including mapping, remote sensing, artificial intelligence
Valuing natural capital and conserving protecting areas of native remnant vegetation to encourage an increased number and diversity of beneficial insects, including pollinators
Improving ecosystem health through better integration and management of biodiversity

Improved management of the pollinator and supply chain — managed bees and pollinators

Assuring the delivery of healthy pollinators to meet Australian agriculture needs
Improving the health and efficiency of managed pollinators through better
husbandry, nutrition and breeding
Mitigating biosecurity threats
Increasing Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management strategies to reduce reliance on chemicals
Collecting trait data and selectively breeding to improve pest and disease resistance
Understanding the national demand for bees and other pollinators across sectors, over time including how a Varroa incursion changes the national supply chain for bees and other pollinators
Managing stocking rates and timing of hive supply
Evaluating and implementing technologies that support beekeepers to meet
pollinator demand
Identifying and developing alternative pollinators suited to providing commercial pollination service, eg stingless bees, flies, hoverflies
Increasing and optimising information on chemical used in agriculture

Increased pollination efficacy — crops and plants

Optimising plant pollen delivery to improve crop yield and quality
Optimising pollination services to suit individual crop needs
Rotating pollination services to optimise crop yield and quality
Understanding crop loyalty and crop foraging behaviour among pollinators
Trialing robotic, mechanical and other artificial pollination strategies
Selecting cultivars to reduce reliance on pollination
Integrating companion planting to optimise pollination services
Identify conditions for optimising pollination in protected cropping systems
Design new technologies for pollination monitoring and data-driven precision pollination
Understanding and optimising the impacts of agronomic practices on crop pollination outcomes

Proposed funding model

This proposal for CRC for Pollination Security seeks to attract funding of $100–120 million over 8–10 years.

Investment partners: The Pollination Security CRC is seeking co-investment from industry organsations, corporate sector, research institutes, and state and federal governments.

The CRC Core Bid Group has already received cash and in-kind support for the Bid Process, and pledges of intent to co-invest from universities, industry organisations including apiary organisations, agriculture businesses, peak bodies; corporate entities including seed businesses, agriculture companies, and state and federal governments.

These include NSW Department of Primary Industries, University of New England, University of Sydney, Australian National University, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Australia, Griffith University, University of Queensland, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, Australian Almonds, the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Australian Native Bee Association, Bejo Australia, South Pacific Seeds, Australian Lychee Growers Association.

The proposed co-investment strategy for the Pollination Security CRC is pictured below:

Return on investment

In the proposed CRC funding model, it is the intent to provide universities/research institutions with a return on investment ratio of 1:4 funding for research.
Return on investment for corporate sector contributions will be based on individual cash and in-kind contributions and eligibility for claiming a R&D tax offset.
www.ato.gov.au/business/research-and-development-tax-incentive/eligibility/eligible-entities/

Details of co-investment funding and return on investment models will be finalised in the Bid to be submitted in August 2022.

Timeline for the CRC

July 2021: The proposal for a CRC for Pollination Security was launched in July 2021 when the Wheen Bee Foundation conducted a virtual workshop on behalf of a number of industry stakeholders.
The workshop was attended by 120 people representing pollinator-dependent industries, beekeeping associations, financial institutions, universities, state and federal agriculture departments.
A Core Group of co-investment stakeholders was established to advance the bid, identifying a framework for future research and working to formalise a future bid.
November 2021–January 2022: Stakeholder consultations held in Vic, Tas, NSW, SA, WA, NT and Qld
February 2022: Consultation findings circulated
February–June 2022: Formalise co-investment partnerships and appoint
CRC Bid Chair and CRC Bid CEO
September 2022: Appointment of Program Leaders.
October 2022: Appointment of Chief Scientist, Prof Saul Cunningham (Australian National University)
January 2023: Stage 1 opens
March 2023: Stage 1 closes
June 2023: Stage 2 opens
August 2023: Stage 2 closes
October 2023: Interviews held
December 2023: Outcomes announced
July 2024: Funding starts

Background

The Australian Government’s CRC Program supports industry-led collaborations
between industry, researchers, and the community. The program aims to:

Improve the competitiveness, productivity, and sustainability of Australian industries in line with government priorities, especially where Australia has a competitive strength.
Foster high quality research to solve industry-identified problems through outcome focused collaborative research partnerships between industry entities and research organisations.
Encourage and facilitate small and medium enterprise (SME) participation in collaborative research.

Since its inception in 1990, the CRC program has committed $4.6 billion in funding to support the establishment of over 221 CRC grants and 76 CRC-P Grants – a total of 297 collaborations funded over the program’s lifetime.