COGGO Ltd celebrates 25 years of driving innovation in Western Australian Agriculture
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The Council of Grain Grower Organisations Limited (COGGO Ltd) is celebrating a major milestone — 25 years of investing in innovation, research and development to advance the Western Australian grains industry.
Over the past 25 years, COGGO funded initiatives have helped to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability on farms, while fostering new technologies, products and partnerships that have helped shape the industry’s future.
Current COGGO Chair Chris Wilkins said the 25th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the organisation’s unique contribution to WA’s agricultural success story.
“For 25 years, COGGO has been driven by growers, for growers. Our members’ commitment to innovation has enabled us to back early-stage projects that might otherwise never get off the ground — and many of these have gone on to deliver significant benefits across the grains industry”, said Mr Wilkins.
In 2011 after achieving its goal of establishing a viable wheat and canola breeding environment in WA, COGGO underwent a restructure. The new direction for the company was to establish a COGGO Research Fund to invest in catalytic research to benefit the profitability of WA grain growers.
Over the past 14 years COGGO has supported more than 80 research projects with funding in excess of $5.6 million across a diverse range of areas, from crop breeding and agronomy to climate resilience and value-added grain products.
“As we celebrate this milestone, we’re proud of the role COGGO has played in advancing WA agriculture, and we look forward to continuing to support bold ideas and breakthrough research that drive the next generation of innovation.
“I would especially like to acknowledge Bruce Piper’s role as the driving force behind the establishment of COGGO and for serving as the company’s inaugural chair for 16 years,” Mr Wilkins said.
COGGO emerged during a period of major change in the grains industry, when end-point royalties were introduced to drive private investment in crop breeding and the Government began withdrawing from public funding of crop breeding. Concerned that international and national commercial breeding programs could overlook breeding suitable varieties for Western Australian conditions, ten WA grain-grower organisations joined together to give local growers a voice by forming COGGO and establishing a fund to take a stake in plant breeding.
ENDS
FOR INTERVIEWS
Chris Wilkins, Chairman
COGGO
M 0427 940 925
E [email protected]
MEDIA CONTACT
Dean McKenzie, Company Secretary
COGGO
M 08 9480 0406
E [email protected]