WA on show to investors

Chinese and Japanese investors were given a taste of the Wheatbelt last week, with representatives from key investor groups visiting a farm in East Pingelly.

The tour, organised by the WA Grains Group and the InvestWest Agribusiness Alliance, gave investors the opportunity to see the workings of a mixed farming enterprise.

According to InvestWest Agribusiness Alliance chief Verghese Jacob, investors and their representatives were able to touch, see and taste their way through a real farming operation in WA.

But he said encouraging international investors into the agribusiness supply chain was not simply a real estate deal.

"It's one thing sitting in the boardroom listening to talks, but it's another thing actually going in and feeling, touching, seeing and tasting what is happening on the farm," he said.

"This is not about buying your farm. It's about investing in the gaps in the agribusiness supply chain so they can get a quality product from WA to China and Japan.

"We had some fairly influential people on the tour who could influence potential investors from China and Japan.

"But the investors are only interested in buying farmland if it will achieve an end, which is simply so they can get a premium, high-quality product to China and Japan.

"That investment might be in a gap anywhere in the supply chain; be it in research and development, ports, logistics, the farm, or more particularly, in processing.

"This is not just a real estate transaction."

More than 60 people took part in the tour around the Marshall family business in east Pingelly and observed the running of prime lambs, the process of making oaten hay and the grain harvest.

Ray Marshall, who runs the business with son Andrew and brother Les, said it was fantastic to have the investors take part in the hands-on operation and to give them greater insight into the process of running a mixed farming business.

"Everyone went away with a better and more practical understanding of how farming systems in WA work and we received some excellent feedback from the participants," he said.

"The WA Grains Group firmly believes in the importance of fostering relationships to ensure that all players in the agribusiness space are successful and we can see the importance of international investment into our supply chain.

"Members of our WA Grains Group have travelled extensively to Asia, and so we have a view that Asia is an extremely important part of our agricultural supply chain and it's critical to ensure long-term positive relationships with these partners.

"This is about a single vision in regard to trading with the two billion people who live on our doorstep."

Department of Agriculture and Food director-general Rob Delane, who took part in the tour of the Marshall property, said the day was an excellent opportunity for investors and investor representatives to interact with farmers.

"Also, local farmers and service providers had the opportunity to learn from the lawyers, consultants, banks and those involved in the international agribusiness supply chain," he said.

Mr Delane said the alliance now had more than 100 members, including law firms, banks, accounting firms and others interested in WA's agribusiness supply chain.

"The general consensus that I hear is that investors are interested in the product supply chain and how to grow supply and grow value adding opportunities," he said.

"So we are seeing more interest in down-stream processing parts of agriculture."

The InvestWest Agribusiness Alliance was formed more than a year ago to develop investor confidence and foster investment in WA's agribusiness sector.

Mr Marshall said he hoped to run the on-farm day with the InvestWest Agribusiness Alliance again next year.