An innovative online portal is putting South Australia’s $21
billion agriculture, food, wine and forestry industries on the world stage and
providing investors with insights into the state’s prime commodity investment
opportunities.
Primary Industries and Regions SA’s (PIRSA) AgInsight
South Australia allows investors to easily investigate commodity
opportunities by integrating critical information such as past and potential yields, soil characteristics, climate patterns and land values in the one map-based
interface.
Using new technology from location-based analytics experts Esri
Australia, the portal has replaced the lengthy task of gathering the information
from original sources such as land administrations and councils with a ‘one-stop-shop’
that reduces the process from months to just minutes.
The portal already has two awards to its name: the 2016
South Australian Premier’s Award for public sector digital innovation and the 2016
Australian Government ICT Award in the geospatial category.
It has now become a crucial tool for government trade
envoys and is giving South Australia an advantage in seeking international
investment opportunities in the agribusiness sector.
PIRSA Deputy Chief Executive Mehdi Doroudi said winning the
SA Premier’s Award was a testament to the agency's world-leading ability to
provide extensive agricultural data to investors.
“AgInsight South Australia is helping the state capitalise
on global demand for our premium food and wine by providing local and
international investors with a greater understanding of what our primary
industries can offer,” Mr Doroudi said.
“The portal shows that the state is open for business and
is a proven adaptor of the latest information technologies.
“It demonstrates how large sets of data can be layered to
provide simple results, such as climate conditions to suit a particular industry
or commodity, and then subsequently the availability of transport and power
infrastructure.”
Esri Australia Managing Director Brett Bundock said the
technology behind AgInsight South Australia enabled investors to move beyond
merely viewing data to answering fundamental questions about where to commit
their capital.
“True to its name, AgInsight
South Australia delivers genuine insight for investors,” Mr Bundock said.
“The intuitive interface allows users to easily filter more
than 150 layers of geospatial data – including property boundaries, planning
zones, transport networks and power infrastructure – from a national through to
individual property scale.
“This powerful geographic context significantly enhances information
on the portal, enabling a much deeper understanding of where the best
investment opportunities are located.”
Mr Bundock said similar portals would
also provide an edge for Australia’s mining, manufacturing and tourism
industries.
“The ability to leverage location, as well as bringing
together information from different sources and formats are advantages location-based
analytics can bring to all of these sectors,” Mr
Bundock said.
“Ultimately this technology makes it easier for potential investors
to identify and investigate growth opportunities, giving our local industries a
significant competitive advantage.”
To find out more about the insights provided by PIRSA’s
innovative portal, test it for yourself at http://www.aginsight.sa.gov.au or
view the YouTube
video.