To achieve efficient and collaborative translation, provision, evaluation and use of knowledge across production, natural resource management and business management domains.
The Transformation Agricultural System program will deliver on this through three key activities.
Program Lead
Kara grew up in Far North Queensland with her family operating an organic banana farm in the region. She received a Bachelor of Business (Public Relations) and Bachelor of Media and Communications from Queensland University of Technology in 2015, spent time in the Northern Territory and ran her own Community Growth and Marketing firm in Brisbane before making the move back to the Wet Tropics.
Kara then worked as Head of Engagement and Community with the Australian Agritech Association (AusAgritech) and brings her extensive regional and agrifood tech ecosystem experience to her new role as Digital Ag Innovation Consultant for the Ag Innovation Program.
Kara is passionate about regional growth and development and fostering greater collaboration and engagement between farmers, researchers and key ecosystem players in the agrifood supply chain to generate better outcomes for Far North Queensland and beyond.
Senior Research Officer, Sustainable Finance and Environmental Markets
Ana is an Environmental specialist with expertise in ESG analysis and has 20 years of experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating socioenvironmental projects and policies dedicated to promoting sustainability, sustainable land management and regenerative agroecosystems.
Ana completed her PhD in 2020 where she developed baseline analysis, indicators, and multi-stakeholder frameworks to assess sustainable planning strategies based on economic, social, and environmental criteria. In 2022, Ana won the annual Pittu Laungani Award for his scientific article entitled “Integrating health promotion into sustainable development goal 11: major challenges and learned lessons from Healthy Municipalities, Cities and Communities (HMC) in Brazil.”