Carnarvon now the ‘home of sub-tropical research’ with plans to build a new agricultural training centre

A dedicated agricultural training centre will be set up in Carnarvon to help boost workforce capacity and capability in the Gascoyne as the region’s horticultural producers power past their current $100 million farmgate value. The training site will be set up at the Carnarvon Research Station and run by Central Regional TAFE, after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parties late last month. The Carnarvon Research Station is located 8km north-east of town and is the headquarters for the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Gascoyne-based staff. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan visited Carnarvon late in November to make the announcement, saying it would boost vocational training at the State’s “home of sub-tropical research”. While there has been no monetary contribution by DPIRD, she said the site had been provided as a free lease under the MOU and students would be able to utilise the research station equipment and trials to complement coursework. “This is a great initiative to provide young people in the Gascoyne with the opportunity to tap into a high-quality training program, appropriately located at the State’s home of sub-tropical research,” she said. “The Carnarvon Research Station hosts a number of groundbreaking research trials across a range of fruit and vegetable crops, including mangoes, persimmons, jackfruit, tomatoes, capsicums, melons, as well as sterile Leucaena. “This collaboration will help contribute to a skilled workforce for the burgeoning horticulture industry, driving regional economic growth and jobs.” The new location will enhance the TAFE’s delivery of certificates in agriculture, horticulture, rural operations and short courses, providing unique access to equipment, research trials and DPIRD’s technical experts. The move builds on the close relationship developed between Central Regional TAFE and DPIRD in recent years, through the department’s PRIMED education project. Central Regional TAFE has funded the construction of a storage shed and grow house, as well as renovations to an onsite house that will be used as a classroom. Students enrolled in Engineering and Construction and Rural Operations courses have this year helped to build pad preparations, site clearing and gate construction for both the storage shed and grow house — all of which are expected to be in action next year. The TAFE’s Camel Lane site will continue to be used for computer-based components of agricultural classes until the communications infrastructure is finalised. The State Government has upgraded the Carnarvon Research Station in recent years, which features a high-tech greenhouse with a retractable roof for environmental control and cyclone protection, a protective crop netting structure and a digital data network. There has also been ongoing investment in scientific personnel at the station, who undertake a range of sub-tropical irrigated agricultural research to advance the district’s $100 million per annum horticulture production industry. The irrigated Carnarvon horticulture district is one of the most productive horticultural areas in WA, with a a wide variety of fruit and vegetable crops including but not limited to bananas, table grapes, mangoes, melons, tomatoes, capsicums and green beans. About 170 plantations are located across 1200ha, with nearly 40,000 tonnes of produce grown each year thanks to irrigation from aquifers beneath and adjacent to the Gascoyne River. Education Minister Sue Ellery said the State was supporting the agriculture industry to build its “current and future workforce”. “This initiative aligns with priorities the industry has set out for meeting its skills needs in the region,” she said. “This unique arrangement will be a great benefit to TAFE students and lecturers, working alongside experienced DPIRD research scientists and technical officers in the field to learn the latest advances and techniques in the horticulture industry. “The partnership between TAFE and DPIRD will help attract students to these important courses, while serving as a platform to launch the next generation of horticulturalists to support the district’s expanding irrigated agriculture industry.”