The Australian state of New South Wales has announced the opening of a new A$5.9m farming research facility on its Central Coast in a bid to increase the country's agricultural exports.
Funded by the New South Wales Government, the research facility will be built at the University of Newcastle's Central Coast campus and will help farmers across the state produce clean, green crops using less pesticides.
It will also help local producers widen the scope of their exports by opening up new markets in Asia and beyond, The Coast News reported.
'Due to research from this state-of-the art facility, New South Wales cherries will be going to Taiwan, peaches to the United States and nectarines to Japan,' New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally said.
'This will help farmers establish long-term and lucrative markets in Asia and other overseas markets.'
The Central Coast region produces around A$200m in agricultural produce each year, with the majority for domestic consumption.
Ms Keneally said the new facility will help open overseas markets for New South Wales produce, like the success enjoyed by the state's Primary Industries Institute in Gosford, which paved the way for the reopening of the A$30m Taiwan market for Australian stonefruit.
'This new facility, once complete, will be a leading Australian horticulture research facility,' Ms Keneally said.
'World-class researchers will be based at this facility and will help to make new horticultural technology and best-practice more accessible to NSW farmers.
'They'll also help farmers increase their productivity, use less water in the production of crops, and produce bigger and better vegetables using the latest technology and techniques.'
The new facility is scheduled to be completed by December this year.
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