YOUNG farmers in NSW have been given a dedicated finance officer to help them overcome investment hurdles.
Deputy Premier Troy Grant revealed to the NSW Young Farmers conference at Dubbo today that the state government would fund a specialist position for Rural Support Worker James Leigo to become the state’s inaugural Young Farmer Project Officer.
Mr Leigo, who has been working with the Department of Primary Industry’s Rural Resilience Program, will be based in Dubbo and starts his new role on March 1.
He will work in tandem with NSW Young Farmers Council on delivering actions from December’s young farmer finance roundtable held in Sydney – including the construction of an online resource hub.
Late last year NSW Young Farmers asked Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair to open his wallet to help fund a million-dollar plan to create a finance officer position that would grow into an industry-led and maintained entity within three years.
The three agreed focus areas from the young farmers finance roundtable were:
- Education and skill development
- New business model approaches
- Access to information and resources, including development of an information hub
While it is not clear how much government cash has been put aside to fund Mr Leigo’s position, Mr Grant said it was the first step in delivering upon the roundtable discussions.
“The NSW Government is determined to make sure the next generation of farmers are supported – because they are the future of our agriculture sector,” Mr Grant said.
NSW Farmers Association chief executive Matt Brand, said the announcement came on the back of continued collaboration with DPI.
“This includes the creation of an online hub to underpin the information sharing and professional development recommendations,” Mr Brand said.
“The new role announced today will work closely with representatives from NSW Farmers, DPI and NSW Young Farmers Council on the design, development and implementation of the hub.
“Providing a co-ordinated facility for better access to the right information and resources will help to bring positive benefits to young people in agriculture.”
The NSW Young Farmers AGM will take place at today’s conference, including the election of a new chairman to replace Josh Gilbert.
Genetics researcher Jo Newton has been acting chair for the past month.
