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, visit www.esriaustralia.com.au/PIRSA. To try AgInsights South Australia out, visit http://www.aginsight.sa.gov.au.
