Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation is a research institute of The University of Queensland, established with and supported by The Department of Primary Industries. Crops, horticulture, animal and food science.
qaafi.uq.edu.
- Congrats to Dr Jiahua Shi and BiomeCentric on securing a National Industry PhD Program award. The project will transform Australian avocado food waste into novel cosmeceutical ingredients, strengthening Australia’s circular bioeconomy. As part of the collab, David Xiao will commence his PhD at UQ. 🌱
- 📢 New opportunity | Senior Manager, Indigenous Engagement (Identified s25) QAAFI is seeking a visionary leader to drive Indigenous engagement across our Institute. bit.ly/3O2ZHpO
- Emeritus Prof Robert Henry joined Queensland Country Hour to discuss why sugarcane could be the key to sustainable aviation fuel ✈️🌱 He talks through what makes sugarcane so productive and scalable, and how genetics could boost how much can be converted into fuel. 🎧 Listen from 17:14: ab.co/4bxtDEu
- 🐄 QAAFI Science Seminar: Understanding Nitrogen Efficiency in Beef Cattle: Insights from Seven Years of Research. Discover from A/Prof Luis Prada e Silva how years of research is reshaping our understanding of nitrogen efficiency in northern beef systems. 24 Feb 2026 | 12:00pm 🔗bit.ly/46i4wSk
- Genetically modified purple tomatoes have been given the tick of approval in Australia. #UQ's Prof Ian Godwin says genetically modified foods can offer a range of benefits for the farmer and consumer. ab.co/4k4bhwZ
- Congratulations to QAAFI's Dr Maral Seididamyeh and Dr Chian Teng Ong for securing Ignite Round 2 grants from Australia’s Economic Accelerator. bit.ly/4be7laA
- Sugarcane hits the sweet spot for sustainable carbon. An opinion piece from Emeritus Professor Robert Henry explaining why plants, and sugarcane in particular are the logical choice as the source material for sustainable aviation fuel. bit.ly/3NjWn9E Image: Mackay Sugar
- 🐟 AI set to revolutionise barramundi farming. QAAFI PhD candidate Jessica Hintzsche recently spoke with ABC Radio about how artificial intelligence could transform barramundi aquaculture. 🎧 Listen from 46:45: ab.co/45f7qqH
- QAAFI is hiring across research, partnerships and professional roles, offering you the chance to make real-world impact in 2026. Some include: 🔹 Research Partnerships Officer 🔹 Postdoc Research Fellow (Sorghum Genome Bioinformatics) 🔹 FaBA Administration Officer View all now 👉 bit.ly/4pWMY5z
- 🎙️Our researcher Samson Olumide Fawale was recently featured on ABC’s South Australian Country Hour (from 42:50), sharing insights from his research into native Australian yams — an important First Nations food with significant agricultural and nutritional potential. 🎧 ab.co/4jASf0J
- As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back. From research milestones to new partnerships, the work achieved is already helping shape what comes next. qaafi.uq.edu.au/news We wish our community a safe and well-earned break. QAAFI closes COB 24 Dec 2025 and reopens 5 Jan 2026.
- Considering your next career move over the holiday period? QAAFI has two more opportunities available: - Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Crop Physiology 🔗bit.ly/4aUkipF - Research Partnerships Officer 🔗bit.ly/49jISz5
- 🚜Featured in Rural Business Magazine and developed at UQ, CropVision can predict crop yield and production risk up to four months before sowing. bit.ly/4pM0MAy
- A new low-sugar beverage featuring Kakadu plum combines Indigenous knowledge with modern innovation to promote wellbeing and healthier options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Discover more about it via the link: bit.ly/495sJfA
- Looking for a dose of breakthrough ag research before the year wraps up? This edition of Innovation in Agriculture brings together some of the standout stories from 2025, spanning crops, livestock, food, sustainability and Indigenous-led research. 🔗bit.ly/493P654
- 🌱Meet Dr Yuhan Liu. After completing her study at UQ, her research is helping improve biological nitrogen fixation, supporting sustainable farming and reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers. bit.ly/48IDbux
- Late last month we shared exciting findings on Mungbean from QAAFI PhD candidate Caitlin Dudley. It’s well worth a read if you missed it. 👉bit.ly/3XKezuZ #UQResearch #QAAFI #GRDC #Mungbean #CropBreeding #Agriculture #Innovation
- 🌏 Happy World Soil Day! Today we join in acknowledging that soil is the foundation of our future. At QAAFI, soil is at the heart of much of what we do from understanding root systems to developing techs and innovations that help farmers build resilience and boost productivity.
- 🌾 Congrats to Prof David Jordan on his appointment as Chair of the Global Sorghum Association Board! A world-leading sorghum breeder with more than 35 years’ experience, he has led QAAFI’s sorghum breeding program and licensed over 2,500 sorghum lines.🔗globalsorghum.org/board
- 🥭 Biting into a sweet, juicy mango this summer? Here’s what makes Aussie mangoes truly special. According to Prof Heather Smyth from QAAFI, Australian mangoes owe their uniquely sweet, tangy flavour to a compound called alpha-terpinolene. ab.co/4ishmTb
- QAAFI recently joined Nyanda Aboriginal Cultural Tours and Bush Foods Experience, just outside Brisbane. It was an incredible opportunity to listen, learn, and honour the enduring wisdom of Aboriginal peoples. Big thanks to Dominique Chen for organising this experience.
- Did you know that when mungbean flowers and how long it flowers for are separate genetic traits? That disovery could lead to more reliable yields of the important cash crop. bit.ly/4otnHiE
- Growing global production of citrus offers opportunities for Australia’s little-known 6 native species. #UQ researcher and PhD candidate Joel Johnson is investigating their chemical composition and nutritional potential. bit.ly/3XckjgO
- 🌾 Happy National Ag Day! Today we celebrate the people, science and innovation behind Australia’s world-class food and fibre. At QAAFI, we’re proud to work alongside the producers, communities and partners driving a stronger, more sustainable agricultural future.
- Australia partners with International Livestock Research Institute to upskill researchers from Africa and Asia. A year-long training program passing on lessons learned here to fellows in Africa and Asia, thanks to ACIAR. bit.ly/3Jrij13
- Sorghum research is supercharged by Grain and Research Development Corporation's 7-year multi-million-dollar Sorghum Strategic Alliance with #UQ, announced today at #TropAg2025. bit.ly/4nErSHQ @theGRCDC
- Finding efficiencies in creating jet fuel from plant waste. A ewly opened ARC Research Hub at #UQ is focused on not only creating jet fuel from plant biomass, but also ensuring it's cost-effective and sustainable. Details via the link: bit.ly/3WIsfpS
- Peptides to prime plant defence against viruses in vegetables. A 5-year project to develop a chemical-free and cost-effective way to tackle viruses in Australia’s multi-billion-dollar vegetable industry led by #UQ and funded by Hort Innovation and DPI. bit.ly/4oanNMr
- Bridging continents with yams. A collaboration between #UQ and the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Indigenous community of Far North Qld has turned to Nigerian expertise to renew interest in Australian yams and build First Nation enterprise. bit.ly/42Xky2u CGIAR
- An integrated vision for predicting crop success. Learn about CropVision, an #ARC funded system developed at #UQ by A/Prof Andries Potgieter. bit.ly/47mm7s9
- Yesterday, QAAFI celebrated UQ Giving Day with a vibrant presence at the Gatton Agtech Showcase and a warm morning tea gathering at St Lucia 💜🌿All in support of QAAFI’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agribusiness Research Fund: bit.ly/4qbZE9N
- A global leader in plant biotechnology, QAAFI’s Prof Ian Godwin brings more than 30 years of research expertise to advancing gene-edited crops. This week, he shares his insights in Canada, exploring how gene-edited crops and animals are transforming ag. bit.ly/3KTaBNf
- Future protein foods: plant versus animal sources, nutrient release rates, and gateway products. #UQ's Professor Mike Gidley shares his views. Read the article in Frontiers in Science. bit.ly/4odUNDs
- UQ Giving Day is nearly here! Join us in celebrating across two events on the 15 Oct: 🌱 Level 7, Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia) - Join us for a special morning tea. bit.ly/4nHOnwo 🚜 Gatton AgTech Showcase – Visit our QAAFI stall. bit.ly/4q1tEVP
- 🍽️ Webinar happening today: Waste to Taste Join Dr Jiahua Shi from QAAFI’s Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences as she showcases innovative ways to transform surplus produce and industry by-products into premium food ingredients. 📍uqz.zoom.us/j/85219171771 🕒 12:00pm AEST
- A Pacific perspective on food security. Insights from TropAg 2025 plenary speaker Dr Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni, Head of International Development for the Plant & Food Research Group at the Bioeconomy Science Institute of New Zealand. bit.ly/42o4eaU
- A breakthrough in cattle genetics 🐮 Prof Ben Hayes is leading research to give northern beef producers a new tool to breed cattle with lower methane emissions — without losing productivity. 📖 Read more: ow.ly/p3b650X5osj
- Seminar next week: Waste to Taste🍽️ How can surplus produce and food by-products become premium ingredients? 📅 7 October | 📍bit.ly/4nPsXgh
- Could the best housemate you’ve ever had be a houseplant? Dr Alice Hayward gives some suggestions to #UQ's Contact. bit.ly/3Il0tfB
- Calf Alive delivers flexibility for northern cattle producers. Find out more about this project on reproductive efficiency and attend the conference in Longreach in November. bit.ly/3VxoaUT
- Co-designing biology and technology to unlock automated plant breeding. Some thinking about ways to reshape the future in crop breeding from Dr Yasmine Lam and Professor Lee Hickey. bit.ly/48x1mfq
- Reimagining agriculture by unlocking genetic potential is the key to addressing the problems in agriculture caused by climate change, says TropAg speaker and University of Florida Prof Charlie Messina. FInd out more about his plans for change: bit.ly/423f0Di
- 🌍 Don’t miss it — today’s seminar with Prof Catherine Propper dives into how pollution impacts everything from cells to ecosystems. 🕑 12:00pm AEST | 📍http://uqz.zoom.us/j/81069386984
- The climate-resilient crop breadfruit is the focus of a collaboration between The University of Queensland and the University of the South Pacific looking into its health benefits. It could be the start of a bigger collaboration. bit.ly/4grA1gN
- A new project from Hort Innovation led by QAAFI's Dr Mobashwer Alam will create trees that can withstand climate change, produce bigger and better-quality nuts earlier, and reduce the production cost burden for Australian growers. bit.ly/46DSfZ6
- Congrats to Prof Lee Hickey for winning the UQ Award for Excellence in Promoting Industry Engagement in Graduate Research. bit.ly/4nsXUa7 His ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding bridges academia & industry and helps PhD grads to land top roles. 👏
- Building confidence in food from farm to fork. @Cargill's Global Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory Affairs Sean Leighton is a plenary speaker at TropAg 2025 in November. Find out more about what he sees as a chance to lead: bit.ly/4phWvF1
- As we kick off Research and Innovation Week at #UQ, have you thought about pigeonpea as an alternative legume? Here's a story about 5 Australian varieties developed in association with Woods Group. Listen to ABC's Qld Country Hour. Listen from 47:44. ab.co/4g9lCWe
- @tropag.bsky.social 🍌 Did you know a single disease wiped out the world’s main banana variety in the 1950s? 4ZZZ’s Eliot Rifkin spoke with Prof Andrew Geering from QAAFI about how protecting bananas from threats could save Australia over $52 million.🎙️ Listen here: bit.ly/47Z3e0g
- 🌱 QAAFI Science Seminar: Curation of Multi-Source Genotypic and Phenotypic Data for Global Genomic Prediction in Tree Crops with QAAFI's Dr Shashi Goonetilleke. 📅 9 September, 12:00pm AEST 🔗 uqz.zoom.us/j/87149886323
